BIFF Unveils 31st Korean Cinema Today, On Screen Lineups
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Na Hong-Jin's "Hope" headlines BIFF's six-film Korean Cinema Today – Panorama lineup, bringing a multinational cast including Hwang Jung-min, Alicia Vikander, and Michael Fassbender after competing at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
- Three world premieres round out the Special Premiere slate: "Cattle Run" (Ryu Seung-ryong and Park Hae-jun as estranged brothers protecting a newborn calf), "Sapiens" (Jung Sung-il and You Chea-myung navigating conflicting testimony in a kidnapping case), and "The Sorry Generation" (Jung Jae-young and Lee Yi-kyung in a comic clash between an exorcism and an ancestral spirit).
- Netflix lands two of three On Screen slots with "Dead-End Job" — Kim Da-min directing Lee Jae-wook, Ko Min-si, Kim Min-ha, and Lee Hee-jun in a suspicious part-time-job mystery, with four of eight episodes screening — and Han Jun-hee's cross-border murder mystery "Blue Road" starring Son Suk-ku, Nagayama Eita, and Kim Shin-rok (three of eight episodes).
- Disney+'s "The Remarried Empress", directed by Cho Suwon with Shin Mina, Ju Jihoon, Lee Jongsuk, and Lee Seyoung, completes the On Screen trio as a romantic fantasy with three of its 10 episodes screening.
- BIFF's On Screen section, launched in 2021 specifically to give audiences an early theatrical look at the year's most anticipated Korean drama series, screens partial episode orders rather than completed seasons.
- The 31st BIFF runs Oct. 6-15 at the Busan Cinema Center, with the 21st Asian Contents & Film Market held Oct. 10-13.
Why it matters: Netflix claiming two of three On Screen slots at a major festival underscores how streamer-backed Korean drama has become the marquee draw for Asia's premier film event, while the Korean Cinema Today slate retains its theatrical-first identity anchored by Na Hong-Jin's star-laden "Hope" — the clearest signal yet of BIFF bifurcating into film premieres on one track and drama previews on another.
Ask SkimNews
