Screen profiles the New Currents and Jiseok competition titles selected for Busan’s 28th edition, which runs October 4-13.
New Currents
After The Fever (Japan)
Dir Akira Yamamoto
This drama follows a woman who has been to prison for the attempted murder of her boyfriend. Several years after the event, she is free and has married when the wife of her ex-boyfriend comes to visit. Themes of intense emotional states experienced during love are explored in this film, which stars Ai Hashimoto, Taiga Nakano and Mai Kiryu. It marks the second feature of Yamamoto, whose 2018 film Speak Low played at Jeonju and FID Marseille. The producer is Teruhisa Yamamoto, who previously produced Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Cannes and Oscar winner Drive My Car as well as Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Venice award-winner Wife Of A Spy.
Contact Yuji Sadai, Bitters End
Borrowed Time (China)
Dir Choy Ji
This tale of two Cantonese cities follows a young woman who embarks from Guangzhou to Hong Kong in search of her missing father, only to become involved in a secret love affair similar to that of her parents three decades before. The cast includes Dongping Lin, Sunny Sun and Eddy Au-Yeung. Hong Kong director Stanley Kwan (Center Stage) is on board as producer and the project went through the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF). It is the first feature for Choy, whose shorts Nature’s Kids, Recalling and A Piece Of Time screened at Busan International Short Film Festival and Tempere Film Festival.
Contact Jinjin Mo, Bocut Film
Heritage (S Kor)
Dir Lee Jong-su
A man who opts out of military service and the social worker assigned to him are the centre of this minimalistic drama. Social worker Jinhyun takes in Youngjin when he discovers the man has been kicked out of his home. Meanwhile, an elderly woman who visits Jinhyun’s welfare centre also confides in him. The cast includes Yoon Hyeok-jin, Ahn Eun-soo and Na Ho-sook. Produced by Jeong Bo-ra, it marks the debut feature of South Korean director Lee.
Contact Borisunamu
Oasis Of Now (Malay-Sing-Fr)
Dir Chia Chee Sum
The first feature of Malaysian director Chia follows a mother and young daughter who meet secretly every few weeks on a secluded staircase in an apartment building. The mother is an undocumented Vietnamese woman in Malaysia, who believes her daughter’s best future lies in living with a Malay family. It is produced by Malaysia’s theCommonist and Afternoon Pictures, Singapore’s Akanga Film Asia and France’s La Fabrica Nocturna. Chia previously won the jury prize for short film High Way at Busan International Short Film Festival in 2018.
Contact Diversion
September 1923 (Japan)
Dir Tatsuya Mori
Marking 100 years since Japan’s Great Kanto earthquake, this historical drama delves into the aftermath of the deadly natural disaster. Rumours spread that Koreans had poisoned the wells, leading to the alleged massacre of thousands of Koreans by soldiers and armed Japanese residents. It is the narrative feature debut of Mori, an established documentary maker whose first film A played the Berlinale in 1999. Further notable works include i -Documentary Of The Journalist-, which debuted at Tokyo in 2019. September 1923 was selected for Busan’s Asian Project Market last year and was released in Japan by Uzumasa on September 1.
Contact Sanshiro Kobayashi, Uzumasa
Solids By The Seashore (Thai)
Dir Patiparn Boontarig
Set in a town in southern Thailand on the verge of an environmental crisis, this drama follows the intimate relationship between a young woman from a local conservative Muslim family and a rebellious female artist from the city. It is the feature directorial debut of Thai filmmaker Patiparn, who previously worked as first assistant director on Phuttiphong Aroonpheng’s Manta Ray, winner of the Horizons award for best film at Venice in 2018, and Jakrawal Nilthamrong’s Anatomy Of Time, the grand prize winner for best film at Tokyo Filmex in 2021. Solids By The Seashore is produced by Diversion, Mit Out Sound Films and Error Brothers.
Contact Diversion
The Spark (India)
Dir Rajesh S Jala
In this Hindi-language feature, a filmmaker on assignment follows a crematorium worker and an old woman in the ancient city of Banaras with his camera. The filmmaker is seeking revenge for a past trauma but a series of events challenges his thinking. The Spark marks the first narrative feature of Kashmir-born Jala, who has spent two decades as a documentary maker, winning awards at the Montreal and Sao Paolo film festivals for 2008 documentary Children Of The Pyre, which also played at BIFF. The Spark was touted at HAF in 2022, where it was selected for the HAF Goes to Cannes programme.
Contact Prayas Deepti, The Elements
The Stranger (Bang)
Dir Biplob Sarkar
This coming-of-age story centres on a family in a rural village in Bangladesh. The young son, Kajal, lives with his mother and ailing grandmother, and begins to question his own gender. Tensions grow when the father returns from the city, where he is rumoured to be living with another family. The cast includes veteran actress Ferdousi Majumdar, Ehan Rashid, Ratan Deb and Sahana Rahman Sumi. It marks the debut feature of Sarkar, a TV producer whose shorts include Newsfood Reanimated, The Flying Dog and Life Is Elsewhere. The Stranger won the Prasad DI award at India’s Film Bazaar last year.
Contact Biplob Sarkar
That Summer’s Lie (S Kor)
Dir Sohn Hyun-lok
This teenage melodrama centres on a high-school girl who reflects on the past summer spent with her boyfriend. Writing about those months as an assignment, her teacher questions some of the shocking details that are revealed, which may or may not be true. The cast includes Park Seo-yoon, Choi Min-jae and Yu Eui-tae. Busan-born director Sohn makes his feature debut with The Summer’s Lie, having previously directed shorts including Agape, Nowhere To Go and Girl At A Window. It is produced by Sohn and Nam Ui-jeong for Seoul-based production company What a Wonderfilm.
Contact What a Wonderfilm
The Wrestler (Bang-Can)
Dir Iqbal H Chowdhury
Set in a remote coastal village in Bangladesh, The Wrestler centres on an eccentric fisherman who trains rigorously in boli, a traditional form of wrestling in the South Asian country. He is mocked when he challenges the village champion but a showdown is inevitable; Nasir Uddin Khan takes the title role. The debut feature of Toronto-based Bangladeshi writer/director/producer Chowdhury won a national film grant from the Bangladesh government and received further support from the Hubert Bals script and development fund. The lead producer is Piplu R Khan, director of documentary Hasina: A Daughter’s Tale, for Applebox Films.
Contact Iqbal H Chowdhury
Jiseok competition
24 Hours With Gaspar (Indo)
Dir Yosep Anggi Noen
Set in 2032 Indonesia, this crime thriller follows an amateur detective who investigates a mass slaughter in which the government is involved. But he is in a race against time, with just 24 hours left to live due to a malfunctioning artificial heart. The cast includes Reza Rahadian, Shenina Cinnamon and Laura Basuki. Yosep’s credits include Peculiar Vacation And Other Illnesses and Solo, Solitude.
Contact Yulia Evina Bhara, KawanKawan Media
At The End Of The Film (S Kor)
Dir Ahn Sunkyoung
Park Jong-hwan plays a film director about to make his next feature who faces a string of setbacks following the death of his cat, which he plans to bury in the mountains. Ahn debuted in 2009 with A Blind River, and she won BIFF’s New Currents Award in 2013 with Pascha.
Contact Ahn Sunkyoung, Curious Cat Films
Blesser (S Kor)
Dir Lee Sangcheol
Based on a true story, this drama explores the lives of parents with disabled children. It follows a journalist who gives birth to twins, one of whom has developmental challenges. The cast includes Jaehwa Kim, Dohyun Sung, Joowon Been and Harin Lee. Filmmaker Lee co-directed Jesus Hospital with Aga Shin, who returns as producer on Blesser.
Contact Lee Sangcheol
Bride Kidnapping (Kyrg)
Dir Mirlan Abdykalykov
Inspired by harrowing true events, the film exposes the widespread practice of bride kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan. The central characters include a young woman who wants to become a nurse, a man whose family urges him to marry, and his secret girlfriend who was once kidnapped and forced into marriage. Abdykalykov’s credits include 2015’s Heavenly Nomadic and he won the Fipresci prize at BIFF in 2019 with Running To The Sky.
Contact Altynai Koichumanova, Oy Art
Doi Boy (Thai-Camb)
Dir Nontawat Numbenchapol
This LGBTQ-themed drama stars Arak Amornsupasiri of 4 Kings, the highest-grossing Thai film of 2021, and centres on a Burmese masseur who develops a dangerous relationship with a corrupt policeman. Cambodian-French filmmaker Davy Chou (Return To Seoul) produces for Thailand’s Nontawat, whose documentary Boundary was at the Berlinale in 2013 and documentary By The River received a special mention at Locarno that same year.
Contact Panu Aree, Neramitnung Film
Ichiko (Japan)
Dir Akihiro Toda
Based on a stageplay by director Toda, this mystery drama follows the disappearance of Ichiko the day after her boyfriend proposes. As he tries to locate her, the truth behind her past is revealed. Sugisaki Hana (Her Love Boils Bathwater, Blade Of The Immortal) takes the title role for Toda, whose credits include The Name and We Have The Same Morning.
Contact Rie Hatano, Happinet Phantom Studios
The Moon (Japan)
Dir Yuya Ishii
Based on a real-life tragedy at a nursing home in Japan, in which 19 people died, the story is told through a writer named Yoko who takes a job at a home for people with disabilities and meets a co-worker who has increasingly eccentric thoughts. Yoko is played by Rie Miyazawa, who is a three-time best actress winner at the Japanese Academy Awards for Her Love Boils Bathwater, Pale Moon and The Twilight Samurai. Ishii’s credits include Sawako Decides and The Great Passage.
Contact Free Stone Productions
Moro (Phil)
Dir Brillante Mendoza
Mendoza returns with the story of two opposed brothers, whose mother attempts to forge a reconciliation — only for relationships to be tested when the region is plunged into violence. The prolific Mendoza became the first Filipino filmmaker to win best director at Cannes with Kinatay in 2009, and his boxing drama Gensan Punch won the Jiseok Award at BIFF in 2021.
Contact Krisma Maclang Fajardo, Center Stage Productions
Paradise (Sri Lanka-India)
Dir Prasanna Vithanage
An Indian couple travel to Sri Lanka to celebrate their wedding anniversary, but after their possessions are stolen, conflicts reveal troubles in their relationship. Vithanage is a leading pioneer of Sri Lankan independent cinema, with titles including Death On A Full Moon Day, August Sun and Flowers Of The Sky. He was at BIFF in 2019 with the premiere of Children Of The Sun.
Contact Anto Chittilappilly, Newton Cinema
Something Like An Autobiography (Bang)
Dir Mostofa Sarwar Farooki
Reality and fiction blur in this feature, starring director Farooki alongside his wife Nusrat Imroz Tisha. They play a married couple in the film, which shifts from romantic comedy to thriller and social drama. Farooki’s Television was BIFF’s closing film in 2012 and he returned with No Land’s Man in 2020.
Contact Chorki
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