On October 6, the 31st edition of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF)—considered Asia’s most important film festival—will kick off. Through October 15, France will take center stage in the South Korean seaside city, with nearly 60 French or French-co-produced films on the program, including 25 majority-French features, accompanied by an artistic delegation.
A strong French presence is expected this year at BIFF, notably Marc Fitoussi and Isabelle Huppert for All About Corinne, and Judith Godrèche and Tess Barthélemy for A Girl’s Story, two films presented in the Gala strand.
Julie Lecoustre and Emmanuel Marre will present A Man of His Time, selected in the Flash Forward strand, Marco Nguyen and Nicolas Athané will accompany Jim Queen in the World Cinema section, while Bertrand Mandico will present Roma Elastica in the Icons strand.
We should also note the presence of Charlotte Gainsbourg, who will attend the festival’s opening ceremony and present Melancholia by Lars Von Trier, in a special screening.
On the market front
The Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM)—the festival’s market component—will also take place in Busan from October 10 to 13. For the 18th year, Unifrance will share a booth with 'EFP - European Film Promotion at the Busan Exhibition Convention Centre (BEXCO), at booth C-16.
11 French export companies will be present at the booth: Alpha Violet, Best Friend Forever (BFF), Global Constellation, Goodfellas, Kinology, Le Pacte, Logical Pictures International, Losange Films, MMM Film Sales, Paradise City Sales, and Salaud Morisset.
All the French films at the 31st Busan International Film Festival
Gala Presentation
- A Girl’s Story by Judith Godrèche
- All About Corinne by Marc Fitoussi
- Dora by July Jung (minority-French co-production)
World Cinema
- Jim Queen by Marco Nguyen and Nicolas Athané
- In Waves by Phuong Mai Nguyen
- Iron Boy by Louis Clichy
- A Place to Heal by Cédric Kahn
- Goodbye Cruel World by Félix de Givry
- Viva Carmen by Sébastien Laudenbach
- A Good Little Soldier by Stéphane Brizé
- La Gradiva by Marine Atlan
- Too Many Beasts by Sarah Arnold
- Salvation by Emin Alper (minority-French co-production)
- Ben'Imana by Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo (minority-French co-production)
- Gentle Monster by Marie Kreutzer (minority-French co-production)
Open Cinema
- Just an Illusion by Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano
- L'Estranea by Paolo Strippoli (minority-French co-production)
Flash Forward
- A Man of His Time by Emmanuel Marre
- La bola negra by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi (minority-French co-production)
- Titanic Ocean by Konstantina Kotzamani (minority-French co-production)
- Sad Girlz by Fernanda Tovar (minority-French co-production)
- A Day in the Life of Jo: Chapter Phaedra by Jacqueline Lentzou (minority-French co-production)
A Window on Asian Cinema
- The Soul Whisperer by Leo Thaddeus (minority-French co-production)
- 9 Temples to Heaven by Sompot Chidgasornpongse (minority-French co-production)
- Filipiñana by Rafael Manuel (minority-French co-production)
- Four Seasons in Java by Kamila Andini (minority-French co-production)
- Hearing by Lê Bảo (minority-French co-production)
- A Girl Unknown by Jing Zou (minority-French co-production)
- Elephants in the Fog by Abinash Bikram Shah (minority-French co-production)
- No Good Men by Shahrbanoo Sadat (minority-French co-production)
- Promised Spaces by Ivan Marković (minority-French co-production)
- The Burning Giants by Phuttiphong Aroonpheng (minority-French co-production)
Icons
- Thanks for Coming by Alain Cavalier
- Parallel Tales by Asghar Farhadi
- Orange-Flavoured Wedding by Christophe Honoré
- The Unknown by Arthur Harari
- Roma Elastica by Bertrand Mandico
- Red Rocks by Bruno Dumont
- Moulin by László Nemes
- Minotaur by Andreï Zviaguintsev
- Diary of a Chambermaid by Radu Jude
- All of a Sudden by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
- Coward by Lukas Dhont (minority-French co-production)
- Yellow Letters by Ilker Çatak (minority-French co-production)
- Fjord by Cristian Mungiu (minority-French co-production)
- It Will Happen Tonight by Nanni Moretti (minority-French co-production)
- Nagi Notes by Koji Fukada (minority-French co-production)
- Fatherland by Pawel Pawlikowski (minority-French co-production)
- The Beloved by Rodrigo Sorogoyen (minority-French co-production)
- My Wife Cries by Angela Schanelec (minority-French co-production)
Wide Angle - Documentary Showcase
- Gabin by Maxence Voiseux
- Colors of White Rock by Khoroldorj Choijoovanchig (French co-production share not specified)
Wide Angle - Documentary Competition
- Agaar by Bo Yang
- From Dawn to Dawn by Xisi Sofia Ye Chen (minority-French co-production)
- Dreams of the Wild Oaks by Marjan Khorsravi (French co-production share not specified)
Special Program in Focus - Japanese Animation Special: Masterpieces of Madness, Exhilarating Prospects 12+1
- The King and the Mockingbird by Paul Grimault
- A New Dawn by Yoshitoshi Shinomiya (minority-French co-production)
- We Are Aliens by Kohei Kadowaki (French co-production share not specified)
Special Screenings & Carte Blanche
- Three Colours : Blue by Krzysztof Kieslowski
- Melancholia by Lars Von Trier (minority-French co-production)
