Busan Director Huh Moonyung Talks Strength Of Korean Content And Growth Of The Festival’s Drama Series Selection

deadline.com:

After two years of holding in-person but stripped down editions of the festival, South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, October 5-14) is back in full force this year with a packed line-up of screenings, red carpets, parties, awards and industry events.The masks will stay on, at least in indoor spaces, but with Korea’s borders open, the festival is welcoming a large number of international filmmakers and industry guests.

BIFF’s main venue, the Busan Cinema Center, will host opening and closing ceremonies;  Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai will be honoured as Asian Filmmaker Of The Year; and stars are expected to attend the Asian Contents Awards, scheduled for October 8, which recognise drama series and other streaming content.Film competition sections include New Currents, for emerging Asian filmmakers, and the new Jiseok section.

The festival’s On Screen section, introduced last year to focus on drama series, will screen nine series including Lee Joon-ik’s Yonder, Takashi Miike’s Connect and The Kingdom Exodus, from Lars von Trier.Busan’s industry platform, Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM, October 8-11), which was forced online by the pandemic, will be held as an in-person event for the first time since 2019.BIFF director Huh Moonyung, spoke to Deadline about what’s new this year, the return to ‘near’ normality and the global success of Korean content.

Huh has a long association with the festival as he was previously head of the Busan Cinema Center and has also worked as the festival’s Korean cinema programmer.DEADLINE: Will this year be a return to normal in terms of screenings, parties, events, audience size and international participation? HUH MOONYUNG: This year’s festival will be almost back to