This year marks the 24th edition of Asia's biggest film festival, the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) in South Korea, which will take place from October 3 through 12 and also features a major sidebar event, the Asian Film Market. As is the case each year, French films will be strongly represented at this festival primarily dedicated to Asian cinema.
With twenty-five French films (including majority-French co-productions) programmed, BIFF 2019 will not only continue to give French cinema wide exposure, but this year will present ten more French titles than in 2018. These films will be accompanied by a sizable delegation of actors and directors, including Costa Gavras, Robert Guédiguian, Ariane Ascaride, Ladj Ly, Éric Lartigau, Chiara Mastroianni, Jean-Charles Hue, Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche, and Damien Bonnard, among others, as well as Hirokazu Kore-Eda, who will introduce his film The Truth and receive a tribute award in honor of his lifetime achievement.
A French Evening event organized by the French Embassy in collaboration with UniFrance will be held on October 5 at the Paradise Hotel in the presence of the French Ambassador to South Korea.
All French films at BIFF 2019
Gala Presentation
Icons
- Cuban Network by Olivier Assayas
- Zombi Child by Bertrand Bonello
- Joan of Arc by Bruno Dumont
- It Must Be Heaven by Elia Suleiman
- Adults in the Room by Costa Gavras
- The Traitor by Marco Bellocchio (minority-French co-production)
World Cinema
- You Will Die at 20 by Amjad Abu Alala
- Tijuana Bible by Jean-Charles Hue
- South Terminal by Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche
- Synonyms by Nadav Lapid
- Sibyl by Justine Triet
- Port Authority by Danielle Lessovitz
- Portrait of a Lady on Fire by Céline Sciamma
- Particles by Blaise Harrison
- On a Magical Night by Christophe Honoré
- Liberté by Albert Serra
- I Lost My Body by Jérémy Clapin
- Deerskin by Quentin Dupieux
- #Iamhere by Éric Lartigau
- Alice and the Mayor by Nicolas Pariser
- Arab Blues by Manele Labidi
- Fire Will Come by Oliver Laxe (minority co-production)
- Corpus Christi by Jan Komasa (minority co-production)
- Our Mothers by César Díaz (minority co-production)
- Tlamess by Ala Eddine Slim (minority co-production)
- The Unknown Saint by Alaa Eddine Aljem (minority co-production)
- Technoboss by João Nicolau (minority co-production)
- White on White by Théo Court (minority co-production)
Open Cinema
- Les Misérables by Ladj Ly
- Martin Eden by Pietro Marcello (minority co-production)
Flash Forward
Film Market
BIFF also gains international attention for its important sidebar event, the Asian Film Market (AFM), to be held once again at the BEXCO Exhibition and Convention Center in Busan. UniFrance will be present alongside 14 French sales companies, who will be represented at a market stand shared with EFP - European Film Promotion.
The following sales companies will be present:
- Nathalie Jeung for Le Pacte
- Jennyfer Gautier for Urban Sales
- Emmanuel Pisarra for Kinology
- Tess Masse for Les Films du Losange
- Juliette Béchu for BAC Films
- Arnaud Godard for Loco Films
- Frédérique Rouault for Playtime
- Keiko Funato for Alpha Violet
- Marine Perez for Reservoir Docs
- François-Nicolas Descombes for Celluloid Dreams
- Constance Poubelle for Pyramides Films
- Leslie Sémichon for Luxbox
- Marco Urizzi for Wide
- Anne-Sophie Martel for Gaumont
