Busan Film Festival Opens 31st Edition with Zhang Yimou, Yeoh, Hui

The 31st Busan International Film Festival opened Tuesday in the South Korean port city with one of its most star-studded ceremonies in recent memory, drawing Michelle Yeoh, Fan Bingbing, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alfonso Cuarón, Kore-eda Hirokazu, Lee Chang-dong and Na Hong-jin for a night that blended Hollywood wattage with regional pride.

Mayor Park Chun Jae-soo, delivering his first opening-night address in office, declared the festival open and urged visitors to catch "Busan sickness" – his phrase for the compulsion to keep returning. "I declare the opening of the 31st Busan International Film Festival," Park said.

What is the competition framing this year?

Festival director Jung Hanseok, in his second year at the helm, organized the edition around a single programming question: "What does Busan call a good film?" The answer sits in 13 competition titles culled from thousands of submissions and selected, Jung said, as the most honest portraits of contemporary Asian life.

The stakes are unusually concrete. BIFF is the only Asia-based festival among six worldwide whose competition Grand Prize qualifies for Academy Award consideration in the International Feature Film category, joining Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Sundance and Toronto in that designation.

Who is on the competition jury?

Chinese director Zhang Yimou is serving as jury president. Zhang once spent seven years as a factory worker before submitting a self-made photo album to win a place at film school despite being over the age limit. From the stage, he addressed the moment directly. "In an age of rapidly advancing AI and increasingly democratized filmmaking, making a good film is becoming more and more difficult," Zhang said. "To put it in terms of Chinese philosophy, filmmaking depends on hard work, but even more on luck."

Zhang's seven-member jury includes Chinese director Bi Gan, Japanese director Kei Ishikawa, South Korean actor Moon Choi, South Korean director July Jung, Vietnamese producer Tran Thi Bich Ngoc and Kazakh actor Samal Yeslyamova. Four of the seven are women. "As you can see, four of our seven jurors are outstanding women working in film," Zhang said. "That represents a step forward. I'm sure working together will spark many exciting exchanges."

What awards did the festival bestow?

Three honors took center stage. Hong Kong director Ann Hui received the Camellia Award, established in 2024 by BIFF in partnership with Chanel to recognize film professionals who push boundaries and advance the status of women in cinema. "From my first visit to BIFF in 1996 to standing on this stage today receiving such a meaningful award, this gives me even more motivation to keep making films," Hui said.

Michelle Yeoh collected the Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award, presented by Choi Min-sik, who recalled her 2023 Academy Award win for Everything Everywhere All at Once – the first best-actress Oscar for an Asian performer. "It is a tremendous honor to receive the Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award here at the Busan International Film Festival," Yeoh said.

Yeoh directed remarks to the honoree beside her: "You have spent nearly five decades capturing the quiet dignity of ordinary lives, while forging a path for generations of women behind the camera. Congratulations on the Camellia Award. It is so deeply deserved." She closed with an appeal to viewers. "A story can travel across the world, and I especially want to thank the films that have changed me. Busan has become an important global gathering for cinema, bringing East and West together."

Co-founder Kim Dong-ho, who raised nearly the entire inaugural budget on his own and secured the abolition of censorship for films at the first edition, received the Korean Cinema Award from festival chair Park Kwang-su and Jung. "I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the citizens of Busan and the filmmakers both across Korea and internationally who, over the past 31 years leading up to where I stand today, have actively participated in, cherished, and supported the Busan International Film Festival," Kim said.

Who walked the carpet?

Fan Bingbing's arrival drew the loudest reception from photographers. Charlotte Gainsbourg represented European art-house credibility alongside Cuarón and his son Jonas Cuaron. Lee Chang-dong walked the carpet with the four leads of his new film Possible Love. Other names present included Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae, Fukada Koji presenting Nagi Notes, Dileesh Pothen for Soul Whisperers and Anjali Patil for Selvi. Pachinko star Kim Minha, also in the festival opening film The Table: Day and Night, hosted the ceremony.

The 31st BIFF runs through Oct. 15, and whatever verdict Zhang's jury delivers will carry a direct line to the Academy Awards no other Asian competition currently commands.