The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF; ), formerly the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF), held annually in Haeundae District, Busan, South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festival, held from 13 to 21 September 1996, was also the first international film festival in Korea.
The main focus of the BIFF is to introduce new films and first-time directors, especially those from Asian countries. Another notable feature is the appeal of the festival to young people, both in terms of the large youthful audience it attracts and through its efforts to develop and promote young talent.
In 1999, the Pusan Promotion Plan (renamed Asian Project Market in 2011) was established to connect new directors to funding sources. The 16th BIFF in 2011 saw the festival move to a new permanent home, the Busan Cinema Center in Centum City.
For the 99th Academy Awards, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) introduced a new eligibility pathway for the International Feature Film category through six designated international film festivals and BIFF is the only Asia-based festival included among the qualifying festivals, alongside Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Sundance, and Toronto. BIFF was also recognized as an "A Festival" under the revised accreditation framework of the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) and is one of 17 film festivals worldwide to hold the designation.
History 1990s 1st Busan International Film Festival, 13–21 September 1996 Films screened: 173 films from 31 countries Opening Film: Secrets & Lies, Mike Leigh, UK/France Closing Film: In Expectation, Ming Zhang, China Participating guests: 224 guests from 27 countries Total audience: 184,071 2nd Busan International Film Festival, 10–18 October 1997 Films screened: 163 films from 33 countries Opening Film: Chinese Box, Wayne Wang, UK/France/USA/Japan Closing Film: Eighteen Springs, Ann Hui, Hong Kong-China Participating guests: 450 guests from 30 countries Total audience: 170,206 3rd Busan International Film Festival, 24 September – 1 October 1998 Films screened: 211 films from 41 countries Opening Film: The Silence, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iran/France Closing Film: Kanzo sensei, Shohei Imamura, Japan Participating guests: 659 guests from 25 countries Total audience: 192,547 (paid audiences: 174,870) 4th Busan International Film Festival, 14–23 October 1999 Films screened: 207 films from 53 countries Opening Film: Peppermint Candy, Lee Chang-Dong, Korea Closing Film: Not One Less, Zhang Yimou, China Participating guests: 555 guests from 36 countries Total audience: 180,914
2000s 5th Busan International Film Festival, 6–14 October 2000 Films screened: 207 films from 55 countries Opening Film: The Wrestlers, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, India Closing Film: In the Mood for Love, Wong Kar-wai, Hong Kong-China Participating guests: 3017 guests from 39 countries Total audience: 181,708 people 6th Busan International Film Festival, 9–17 November 2001 Films screened: 201 films from 60 countries Opening Film: The Last Witness, Bae Chang-ho, Korea Closing Film: The Legend of Suriyothai, Chatrichalerm Yukol, Thailand Participating guests: 3,761 guests from 30 countries Total audience: 143,103 people 7th Busan International Film Festival, 14–23 November 2002 Films screened: 226 films from 57 countries Opening Film: The Coast Guard, Kim Ki-duk, Korea Closing Film: Dolls, Kitano Takeshi, Japan Participating guests: 4,387 guests from 35 countries Total audience: 167,349 people 8th Busan International Film Festival, 2–10 October 2003 Films screened: 243 works from 61 countries Opening Film: Doppelganger, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Japan Closing Film: Acacia, Park Ki-hyung, Korea Participating guests: 2,523 people from 44 countries Invited guests: 4,387 people from 50 countries (Inc. PPP& Press) Total audience: 165,102(paid audiences: 145,041) 9th Busan International Film Festival, 7–15 October 2004 Films screened: Total 262 films from 63 countries Opening Film: 2046, Wong Kar-wai, Hong Kong-China Closing Film: The Scarlet Letter, Daniel H. Byun, Korea Participating guests: Total 5,638 guests from 50 countries Total audience: 166,164 10th Busan International Film Festival, 6–14 October 2005 Films screened: 307 films from 73 countries Opening Film: Three Times, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Taiwan Closing Film: Wedding Campaign, Hwang Byung-kook, Korea Participating guests: 6,088 from 55 countries Total audience: 192,970 11th Busan International Film Festival, 12–20 October 2006 Films screened: 245 films from 63 countries Opening Film: Traces of Love, Kim Dae-seung, Korea Closing Film: Crazy Stone, Ning Hao, China/Hong Kong-China Participating guests: 8,321 from 51 countries (inc. ASIAN FILM MARKET & press) Total audience: 162,835 12th Busan International Film Festival, 4–12 October 2007 Films Screened: 271 films from 64 countries in 770 screenings Opening Film: Assembly, Feng Xiaogang, China Closing Film: Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone, Kazuya Tsurumaki, Hideaki Anno, Masayuki, Japan Participating guests: 7,361(exc. ASIAN FILM MARKET) Total audience: 198,603 13th Busan International Film Festival, 2–10 October 2008 Films screened: 315 films from 60 countries. 827 screenings. Opening Film: The Gift to Stalin, Rustem Abdrashev, Russia/Kazakhstan/Israel/Poland Closing Film: I Am Happy, Yoon Jong-chan, Korea Participating guests: 11,110 in total (inc. ASIAN FILM MARKET) Total audience: 198,818 14th Busan International Film Festival, 8–16 October 2009 Films Screened: 355 films from 70 countries. 803 screenings. World Premiere: 98 Films (72 Feature Films, 26 Short Films) International Premiere: 46 Films (41 Feature Films, 5 Short Films) Opening Film: Good Morning President, Jang Jin, Korea Closing Film: The Message, Gao Qunshu, Chen Kuo-fu, China Invited Guests (exc. Asian Film Market): 8,602 in total (Guests: 6,400, Press: 2,202) Total audience: 173,516
2010s
15th Busan International Film Festival, 7–15 October 2010 Films Screened: 306 films from 67 countries（101 World Premieres / 52 International Premieres） Screening Venue: Total of 232,851 seats and 36 screens at 6 theaters Opening Film: Under the Hawthorn Tree, Zhang Yimou, China Closing Film: Camellia, Wisit Sasanatieng, Isao Yukisada, Jang Joon-hwan, Thailand/Japan/Korea Participating guests: 9,367 3,784 from Korea 906 from out of Korea 1,651 Cinephiles 789 Market participants 2,237 Press Accreditations Total audience: 182,046 16th Busan International Film Festival, 6–14 October 2011 Films Screened: 307 films from 70 countries（86 World Premieres / 45 International Premieres） Screening Venue: Total of 235,907 seats and 36 screens at 5 theaters Opening Film: Always, Song Il-gon, South Korea Closing Film: Chronicle of My Mother, Masato Harada, Japan Participating guests: 11,268 Domestic: 4,482 International: 765 Cinephile: 1,999 Market: 1,080 Busan Cinema Forum: 502 Accredited Press: 2,440 * Market and Forum participants include only the numbers accredited with the Badge Total audience: 196,177 17th Busan International Film Festival, 4–13 October 2012 Films Screened: 304 films from 75 countries（96 World Premieres / 39 International Premieres） Screening Venue: 37 screens at 7 theaters Opening Film: Cold War, Longman Leung, Sunny Luk, Hong Kong Closing Film: Television, Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, Bangladesh Participating guests: 11,519 Domestic: 4,830 International: 806 Cinephile: 2,149 Market: 1,098 Busan Cinema Forum: 279 Accredited Press: 2,357 Total audience: 221,002 18th Busan International Film Festival, 3–12 October 2013 Films Screened: 299 films from 70 countries（94 World Premieres / 40 International Premieres） Screening Venue: 35 screens at 7 theaters (Market and unofficial screenings excluded) Opening Film: Vara: A Blessing, Khyentse Norbu, Bhutan Closing Film: The Dinner, Kim Dong-hyun, Korea Participating guests: 9,991 Domestic: 3,423 Foreign: 751 Cinephile: 1,667 Market: 1,272 BC&F: 616 Accredited Press: 2,262（Domestic: 1,963, Foreign:299） Total audience: 217,865 19th Busan International Film Festival, 2–11 October 2014 Films Screened: 312 from 79 countries（96 World Premieres / 36 International Premieres） Screening Venue: 33 screens at 7 theaters (Market and unofficial screenings excluded) Opening Film: Paradise in Service, Doze Niu, Taiwan Closing Film: Gangster Payday, Lee Po-cheung, Hong Kong Participating guests: 10,173 Domestic: 3,362 Foreign: 775 Cinephile: 1,429 Market: 1,566 BC&F: 750 Accredited Press: 2,291 Total audience: 226,473 20th Busan International Film Festival, 1–10 October 2015 Films Screened: 302 from 75 countries（94 World Premieres / 31 International Premieres） Screening Venue: 35 screens at 6 theaters (Market and unofficial screenings excluded) Opening Film: Zubaan, Mozez Singh, India Closing Film: Mountain Cry, Larry Yang, China/United States Participating guests: 9,685 Domestic: 3,226 Foreign: 775 Cinephile: 1,405 Market: 1,571 BC&F: 403 Accredited Press: 2,325 Total audience: 227,377 21st Busan International Film Festival, 6–15 October 2016 Films Screened: 299 from 69 countries Opening Film: A Quiet Dream – Zhang Lu, Korea Closing Film: The Dark Wind, Hussein Hassan, Iraq/Germany/Qatar Participating guests: 5,759, excluding the press Total audience: 165,149 22nd Busan International Film Festival, 12–21 October 2017 Films Screened: 300 from 76 countries Opening Film: Glass Garden – Shin Su-won, South Korea Closing Film: Love Education, Sylvia Chang, China/Taiwan Total audience: 192,991 23rd Busan International Film Festival, 4–13 October 2018 Films Screened: 324 from 79 countries Opening Film: Beautiful Days - Jéro Yun, South Korea Closing Film: Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy, Yuen Woo-ping, Hong Kong/China Total audience: 191,000 24th Busan International Film Festival, 3–12 October 2019 Films Screened: 299 from 85 countries Opening Film: The Horse Thieves. Roads of Time - Yerlan Nurmukhambetov, Lisa Takeba, Kazakhstan/Japan Closing Film: Moonlit Winter - Lim Dae-hyung, South Korea Total audience: 189,116
2020s
25th Busan International Film Festival, 21–30 October 2020 Films Screened: 192 films from 68 countries Opening Film: Septet: The Story of Hong Kong - Johnnie To, Ringo Lam, Hark Tsui, Sammo Hung, Ann Hui, Patrick Tam Yuen, Wo Ping, Hong Kong, China/China Closing Film: Josee, the Tiger and the Fish - Tamura Kotaro, Japan Total audience: 20,135 26th Busan International Film Festival, 6 to 15 October 2021 Films Screened: 223 films from 70 countries Opening Film: Heaven: To the Land of Happiness by Im Sang-soo Closing Film: Anita by Longman Leung Total audience:76,072 27th Busan International Film Festival, 5 to 14 October 2022. Films Screened: 242 films from 71 countries Opening Film: Scent of Wind - Hadi Mohaghegh, Iran Closing Film: A Man - Ishikawa Kei, Japan
28th Busan International Film Festival, 4 to 13 October 2023. Films Screened: 269 films from 69 countries Opening Film: Because I Hate Korea - Jang Kun-jae, South Korea Closing Film: The Movie Emperor - Ning Hao, China
29th Busan International Film Festival, 2 to 11 October 2024. Films Screened: 278 films from 63 countries Opening Film: Uprising – Kim Sang-man, South Korea Closing Film: Spirit World – Eric Khoo, France, Singapore, Japan