BIFF Honors Ahn Sung-ki, Names Thailand Country of Honor
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- BIFF unveiled "Those Beautiful Years, Ahn Sung-ki," a six-film retrospective hand-picked by the actor before his death, spotlighting his 1980s–1990s peak with titles including "A Fine, Windy Day" (1980), "Whale Hunting" (1984), "Chil-su and Man-su" (1988), "Gagman" (1989), "White Badge" (1992), and "Festival" (1996).
- Ahn Sung-ki's screen career spanned nearly seven decades from his 1957 child actor debut; BIFF will publish an essay collection on his legacy co-hosted with the Korean Film Archive.
- Directors Lee Jang-ho, Bae Chang-ho, and Chung Jiyoung along with actors Kim Bo-Yeon and Bae Jong-ok are slated for guest visits at the tribute screenings as longtime collaborators of the late actor.
- The Asian Contents & Film Market launched a Country of Honor program — its highest-tier country partnership — naming Thailand as the inaugural 2026 recipient.
- Thailand's designation follows past ties including Pen-ek Ratanaruang's "Ploy" (selected for the 2006 Pusan Promotion Plan) and Aditya Assarat's "Wonderless Town" — actually "Wonderful Town" — the 2007 New Currents winner; more than 540 foreign film and TV productions shot in Thailand last year, drawn by cash rebates of up to 30%.
- Chookiat Sakveerakul, president of the Thai Film Directors Association, said Thailand is "deeply honored" and that the partnership would "open new doors for Thai films and content to reach wider international audiences."
- The 31st BIFF runs Oct. 6–15, with the 21st ACFM held Oct. 10–13.
Why it matters: Thailand's inaugural Country of Honor status — a newly created top-tier ACFM designation — formalizes Bangkok's pitch as a regional production hub, underscored by the 540+ foreign shoots and 30% rebates cited in the announcement. For BIFF, the Ahn tribute positions a six-decade legend's own pre-death film picks as the festival's grand-finale marquee retrospective.
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