[HanCinema's News] Anticipation Builds for Long Guest List at Busan International Film Festival

By William Schwartz on 2023/09/30 at 21:31 PST

The 28th iteration of the Busan International Film Festival will get underway this coming October 4th. International guests such as Hirokazu Koreeda are expecting to appear the festival, which feature 209 films from 69 countries among its selections, with another 60 films appearing via Community BIFF. Lee Je-hoon and Park Eun-bin will be emceeing the opening ceremony, which will spotlight "Because I Hate Korea" from writer/director Jang Kun-jae as the festival's first selection.

Other celebrities confirmed for official festival appearances include Youn Yuh-jung, Han Hyo-joo, Song Joong-ki, and John Cho, who will be having special talks with audiences in Busan about their careers. Song Joong-ki will also be appearing in "Hopeless" which will premiere at Busan slightly ahead of its October 11th release date in South Korea at large. The Netflix projects "Ballerina" and "Believer 2" will also see early appearances at Busan.

Series appearing on-screen at Busan include "The Perfect Deal" from wavve and "Vigilante" from Disney Plus. "I Am a Running Mate" and "A Bloody Lucky Day" will appear ahead of their streaming on TVING, as will "LTNS" which is more comedically inclined. Attention will also be paid to the best new actors in the industry, a contest to be judged this year by Jung Woo and Han Ye-ri. Lastly, Hong Kyung and Go Min-si will emcee the closing ceremony.

Written by William Schwartz