BIFF Taps Das, Shan, Shim for New Currents Jury — SkimNews
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- The 31st Busan International Film Festival has confirmed Rima Das, Shan Zuolong, and Shim Eun-kyung as jurors for its New Currents Award, which goes to debut feature films in the festival's Competition or Vision sections and carries a KRW20 million ($14,400) cash prize.
- Das, an Assam-based filmmaker, won India's National Film Award for best feature with "Village Rockstars" (2017) — which became the country's 2018 Academy Awards submission — and took BIFF's Kim Jiseok Award in 2024 for "Village Rockstars 2."
- Shan produced Bi Gan's "Resurrection" (2025), which won Cannes' Special Prize and BIFF's Busan Award for Artistic Contribution when it screened at last year's festival, along with Locarno-winning "Kaili Blues" (2015) and Venice Lion of the Future winner "Love Is a Gun" (2023).
- Shim, a best actress winner at Korea's Baeksang, Chunsa, and Buil awards for "Miss Granny" (2014), became the first Korean actor to claim the Japan Academy Film Prize for best actress with "The Journalist" (2019); her "Two Seasons, Two Strings" won Locarno's Golden Leopard this year.
- The 31st BIFF runs Oct. 6-15 at the Busan Cinema Center and other venues, with the 21st Asian Contents & Film Market taking place Oct. 10-13.
Why it matters: The jury's combined credits — Locarno's Golden Leopard, a Cannes Special Prize, and India's National Film Awards — lend established festival weight to BIFF's New Currents selection process. Three jurors from India, China, and Korea reinforce the prize's pan-Asian scope and BIFF's role as a regional launchpad for debut Asian filmmakers.
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