A raft of star actors and directors from across Asia helped open the 28th Busan International Film Festival tonight (October 4), led by Hong Kong film icon Chow Yun-fat.
The acclaimed star of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Killer took to the stage at the festival in South Korea to accept the honorary Asian Filmmaker of the Year award.
Speaking to a packed audience at the outdoor theatre of the Busan Cinema Center, Chow said: “It’s been exactly 50 years since I started my career as an actor. 50 years may seem like a long road but, at the same time, it just feels like yesterday.”
Congratulatory video messages were played from fellow Hong Kong star Andy Lau and filmmakers Ang Lee, Park Chan-wook, Jia Zhangke and Ann Hui, nearly all of whom addressed him as Big Brother Chow. Park, the acclaimed Korean director of Decision To Leave and Oldboy, said: “For young Korean moviegoers, the late 1980s was the era of Hong Kong cinema, especially the era of Chow Yun-fat. For young men at that time, Chow was the Big Brother we wanted to look up to and rely on.”
It marked the pinnacle of an evening that saw filmmakers and actors from more than 50 titles in BIFF’s official selection walk the red carpet, including Chinese actress Fan Bingbing, Korea-born US actor John Cho, Minari director Lee Isaac Chung, Indonesian filmmaker Joko Anwar, and Teo Yoo, star of Celine Song’s critically lauded Past Lives.
Park Eun Bin, star of South Korean Netflix series Extraordinary Attorney Woo, and Song Kang-ho of Parasite and Broker were on hosting duties.
Also in attendance were representatives from South Korea’s Jeonju, Bucheon and DMZ Docs film festivals as well as from the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF), Udine, Vesoul and the head of programming at the Berlinale, Mark Peranson. Cannes Critics’ Week artistic director Ava Cahen was present as a member of the New Currents competition jury.
Turmoil
It all put a glitzy front on what has been a murky period for BIFF, which began in May when the festival director’s job was split in two, appointing Cho Jongkook to the new position of managing director alongside festival director Huh Moonyung. Huh abruptly resigned and was shortly after accused of sexual harassment by a festival employee – claims that he denies. In a bid to address the disruption, Cho was dismissed and Lee Yong-kwan, one of BIFF’s original founders, took responsibility for the situation and resigned as chairman of the festival.
Even on the first day of the festival, the turmoil has been publicly referenced several times. At the opening ceremony, Busan mayor Park Heong-joon said: “I hope we can communicate and reconcile again,” while the CEO of long-time BIFF sponsor BNK Busan Bank said: “Recently, BIFF went through some difficult times but I believe strongly that [the festival] will overcome all these obstacles and hurdles and will go beyond Asia and leapt forward to the world.”
Executive Park was on stage to receive an Appreciation Plaque from the festival, in recognition of the bank’s sponsorship of every edition of the festival since BIFF’s inception in 1996. As sponsors fell away this year following the top-level disruption, resulting in cuts to the budget, BIFF appears to appreciate BNK’s support more than ever.
Even at a press conference for opening film Because I Hate Korea, journalists took the opportunity to quiz veteran BIFF programme director and interim festival director Nam Dong-chul, who was moderating the session.
Asked about the challenges faced by the festival, Nam said: “This is the opening film press conference, but you asked the question so I will answer. In this film, the attitude of the main character resonates with me and gave me some encouragement. Her attitude is of hope and how she chooses to keep her dignity. Regardless of the festival situation, this film resonated with me.
“Of course, we’ve had difficulties but we’re embarking on the 10-day journey of this festival and have prepared well. There’s room to improve but we’ve done our best to make this festival successful so I hope you journalists will have a positive takeaway.”
A further question, about if Nam had a message to Busan’s cinephile fans who know of the disruption, prompted the response: “I don’t know what to say. We’ve prepared a lot and there is a lot to offer so please come and enjoy.”
Tribute
The opening ceremony began with a tribute to Yun Jung-hee, who died earlier this year aged 78 and was a leading star in the heyday of Korean films in the 1960s and 1970s, later winning awards for Lee Chang-dong’s 2010 feature Poetry.
Paik Jin-hi, her daughter, played Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise on violin – the same piece she played as her mother passed away on January 19 in Paris.
Presenting the Korean Cinema Award posthumously, director Lee said: “In the world of Korean cinema, we have many stars but I believe that the late actor Yun Jung-hee was the brightest and most beautiful among them. She had been the star in my heart since my teenage years and working with her on the movie Poetry was truly a grateful and happy experience.”
Accepting the award, a visibly emotional Paik said: “I vividly remember the day when I was little, my parents and I celebrated the inception of the very first BIFF. Over the years, you have consistently shown unwavering love for Yun Jung-hee… Over the past decade, she had to fight against a serious illness but I believe that the film Poetry and [BIFF’s] affection for her must have brought happiness to her, despite the distance.”
BIFF will run October 4-13. The Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) industry platform is set to run alongside the festival in Busan from October 7-10.
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