[26th BIFF] "76,000 Attendees Over Ten Days, 1 Confirmed Case" Concludes... Apology for Operational Shortcomings

Busan International Film Festival Closes on the 15th

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Isul] The Busan International Film Festival, which opened at the gateway to 'With Corona,' has completed its ten-day voyage. As the first large-scale cultural event since the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus infection) pandemic, the festival overcame some concerns and expressed satisfaction, stating that it "faithfully adhered to quarantine measures." Regarding projection accidents, they apologized, admitting "lack of preparation."

Chairman Lee Yong-gwan said at the online closing press conference of the 26th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) held on the morning of the 15th, "Because of the power of COVID-19, even typhoons could not approach," adding, "Next year, we will consider what we should go with in 'with' (with corona)."

The 26th Busan International Film Festival was held at six screening venues with 29 screens, including the Busan Cinema Center in Haeundae-gu, Busan, and CGV Centum City. A total of 223 official selections from 70 countries and 58 Community BIFF films were screened.

The total number of attendees was counted at 76,072. The effective number of seats was 95,163. Community BIFF attracted 3,330 visitors, and Neighborhood BIFF had 3,771 attendees. The seat occupancy rate recorded 80%. Executive Director Heo Moon-young said, "I think this is the upper limit we can reach. If it exceeds 80%, there is a concern about ticket wars," adding, "We plan to maintain a similar level next year."

Embracing OTT and Opening Actors House

This year, the festival held six open talks and ten outdoor stage greetings. Directors Bong Joon-ho and Japan's Ryusuke Hamaguchi visited Korea and held special dialogues, drawing great attention. Tickets sold out early on-site and were also broadcast online. Ajou Damdam and Short Film Long Talk were conducted only through online channels. A total of 191 audience talks (GV) were held, with 149 offline and 40 online sessions.

A new 'On Screen' section was introduced to screen OTT (Over-The-Top) series in theaters, with all three titles?'Hellbound,' 'My Name,' and 'Forbidden'?sold out. Similarly, the newly established Actors House hosted actors such as Jo Jin-woong, Lee Je-hoon, and Uhm Jung-hwa, who met with the audience.

Executive Director Heo Moon-young said, "Actors House was a paid event, and all proceeds will be donated to Save the Children. It received a good response, so we plan to continue it next year. Even if the 'Cinema Together' program, which could not be held this year due to COVID-19, reopens next year, we will continue Actors House." He added, "Last year, there were no overseas guests, but this year, 69 participated."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

One COVID-19 Case Confirmed

This Busan International Film Festival attracted attention as the first large-scale cultural event held amid the fourth wave of COVID-19. Executive Director Heo said, "We faithfully followed the quarantine guidelines prepared after prior consultation," adding, "One participant in the festival tested positive, but there were no further cases. This is the result of diligently following the quarantine guidelines."

Despite the festival's confidence, a confirmed case emerged. On the 6th, a manager of an actor who attended the BIFF opening ceremony tested positive in a PCR test on the 11th. The manager left Busan on the 8th and, feeling symptoms in Seoul, was confirmed positive after a test on the 9th.

Vice Chair Kang Seung-ah said, "To establish thorough quarantine, we took swift related measures with the cooperation of the Busan Citizen Quarantine Promotion Team," adding, "As of 10 a.m. today (15th), all contact-related measures have been completed, and all PCR tests were negative. There is one confirmed case, and no additional cases (yet)." She continued, "After the closing, we plan to conduct tests on the 21st and 22nd and manage for two weeks."

Regarding the possibility that the confirmed case might have been infected in Busan since they participated in the festival schedule after testing negative two days prior, Vice Chair Kang refrained from commenting, saying, "The infection route is under the jurisdiction of health authorities, so it is difficult to provide an official answer."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Apology for Projection Accidents Due to "Lack of Preparation"

There were also criticisms about operational shortcomings. On the 9th, the screening of 'Souvenir: Part' at the Sky Theater of Busan Cinema Center was delayed for about 20 minutes due to no image being displayed. Two days later, on the 11th at 8 p.m., the screening of 'Last Night in Soho' at Sohyang Theater in Haeundae-gu, Busan, was interrupted just two minutes after starting due to video cut-off.

Executive Director Heo said, "There were some painful mistakes this year that received criticism. We will internally review why these incidents occurred," promising, "We will do better from next year." He added, "As a novice executive director, please understand that there are various mistakes."

The festival stated that projection accidents have occurred more than twice annually. Heo apologized, saying, "We continuously monitor projection accidents. Whenever they happen, we are sincerely sorry," but also said, "Projection accidents have happened every year. What is more important is the response afterward." He explained, "Because we devoted 90% of our efforts to quarantine during preparation, we were not fully prepared for post-incident responses this year," promising, "Next year, we will reduce screening accidents to provide opportunities for audiences to watch films without distress."

The cancellation of director Leos Carax's 'Annette' press conference a day before and the last-minute cancellation of 'Blue Lake' press conference 15 minutes prior, which was held online, also left regrets. Heo said, "There were complicated circumstances," and apologized for the inconvenience.

Chairman Lee Yong-gwan said, "Projection accidents, delays in press conferences, and volunteer inexperience are all the responsibility of the executive team," promising, "We will consider and improve." He added, "We will not let our guard down until the PCR test results for all staff come out two weeks after the closing."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Asian Contents & Film Market Successfully Concluded

This year's Asia Contents & Film Market saw participation from 853 companies across 55 countries, with 1,479 people attending. Through online platforms, 200 companies from 23 countries opened booths. Chairman Oh Seok-geun said, "This year, we launched a dedicated mobile app for the market, which received favorable reviews for screenings and non-face-to-face business." He added, "We expanded the scope to include short-form, OTT, and animation to accommodate the OTT industry."

Chairman Oh said, "The main function of the market is the overseas distribution and licensing of domestic and Asian content. Providing market competitiveness based on this is an important mission," adding, "The number of meeting participants increased by about 600 compared to last year, and the total number of meetings exceeded 1,300."

Regarding future operational plans, Chairman Oh said, "We need to review traditional market operation methods and find new ways," but also shared, "In conversations with the Cannes International Film Festival Film Market chairman, we agreed that the most important thing is meetings. Through these, information exchange happens, and the conviction conveyed through eye contact and voice is crucial." He added, "We will also consider various events that utilize the advantages of online."

This year, the festival emphasized face-to-face events but adopted a hybrid online and offline approach. What about next year? Executive Director Heo Moon-young said, "Most people who create film festivals agree that 'a film festival is a celebration of watching films together.'" He continued, "This year's Community BIFF slogan was 'Meet Again.' I think it represents the heart. A festival can only truly be established when people face each other."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.