Cuarón Korea Debut, European Women+ Spotlight Headline BIFF — SkimNews
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- Alfonso Cuarón will make his first-ever Korea visit at the 31st BIFF, appearing at the opening ceremony and sitting for an extended conversation about the camera language behind his films.
- An IMAX screening of 'Gravity' is on the program, co-written with his son Jonás Cuarón, whose own feature 'Campeón Gabacho' will have its Asian premiere in the World Cinema section followed by a Q&A.
- BIFF is launching 'Europe! Voices of Women+ in Film' with the European Film Promotion, officially selecting nine films — four of them feature debuts — to spotlight European women and genderqueer filmmakers through targeted promotion and industry networking.
- May el-Toukhy's 'Woman Unknown', winner of the Venice Golden Lion, anchors the European lineup; five of the program's directors — el-Toukhy, Godrèche, Ferrari, Lentzou and Kotzamani — will travel to Busan to present their films in person.
- BIFF programmer Seo Seunghee said European women directors became more prominent among the strongest titles under consideration this year, calling the four debuts 'an indicator of the generational shift taking place in European cinema.'
- The festival runs Oct. 6–15 at the Busan Cinema Center, with the 21st Asian Contents & Film Market held Oct. 10–13; the European program runs in collaboration with the Sydney Film Festival and Festival do Rio with support from Creative Europe – MEDIA.
Why it matters: Four of the nine European women+ spotlight films are feature debuts — what BIFF's own programmer explicitly calls 'an indicator of the generational shift taking place in European cinema,' not just industry boilerplate. EFP's managing director frames Busan as 'an important platform' for these voices to reach Asian audiences, while Cuarón's first Korea trip and his son's Asian premiere give the festival a marquee anchor built around emerging and family lineage rather than legacy tribute.
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