Busan International Film Festival celebrates 20 years of increasing influence, as Asian cinema continues to grow

Asia’s most influential film festival kicked off on Thursday in the South Korean port city of Busan, celebrating its 20th anniversary at a time of growing regional clout in the global movie market.

“An increasing number of filmmakers from around the world are paying attention to the importance and potential of Asian cinema and the market here,” says actress Kang Soo-Yeon, co-director of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). “BIFF has always recognised the importance of Asian cinema and aimed to help introduce the region’s rising talent.”

This year, the 10-day festival opened with the world premiere of Indian drama Zubaan by first-time director Mozez Singh.

BIFF has never had a Bollywood production as its curtain raiser and Singh describes the selection of his movie as a “wonderful turn of events …All you really want is to make the best possible film that will reach out to as many people around the world as possible. Busan will give Zubaan this chance,” he says.

The coming-of-age feature follows the story of a young man who uses music to question his role in modern Indian society. “BIFF has constantly broken new ground by empowering new and young filmmakers and it continues to do so,” Singh says.

The festival’s 20th edition screens 304 movies from 75 countries, including 94 world premieres.