Korean drama The Land Of Morning Calm and Myanmar feature MA – Cry Of Silence have won the New Currents competition at the 29th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), which has confirmed it will shift to an earlier date in 2025.
The festival also revealed Rima Das’s Indian feature Village Rockstars 2 and Tom Lin’s Taiwan drama Yen And Ai-Lee as joint winners of the Kim Jiseok Award.
Scroll down for full list of winners
The Land Of Morning Calm marks the second feature of Korean filmmaker Park Ri-woong, whose received acclaim for his 2021 debut The Girl On A Bulldozer. His latest unravels the story of a young fisherman’s disappearance and an old captain mysteriously involved in this case. Sales of the film are handled by Hive Filmworks.
The New Currents jury, led by dissident Iran filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, said: “Through precise, deliberate pacing, Park navigates themes of economic uncertainty, loss, xenophobia, and societal prejudice, creating a narrative that never falters.”
MA – Cry Of Silence is the second feature of Myanmar filmmaker The Maw Naing, whose 2014 debut The Monk played extensive festivals including Karlovy Vary. His latest centres on a teenage textile worker in Myanmar, who struggles to find her voice against a backdrop of political unrest. It is a Myanmar-Korea-Singapore-France-Norway-Qatar co-production and sales are handled by France’s Alpha Violet.
The jury praised the film’s “courageous portrayal of resistance to historical and ongoing political challenges under Myanmar’s political junta.”
The New Currents section comprises first or second features from rising Asian filmmakers while the festival’s competitive Jiseok strand is open to more established Asian directors with at least three features to their names.
Kim Jiseok Award joint winner Village Rockstars 2 is a sequel to the 2017 coming-of-age drama that premiered at Toronto and went on to win best feature at India’s National Film Awards before being submitted by the country to the Oscars. In the follow-up, Indian filmmaker Das continues the story of teenage girl Dhunu, who steps up as a guitarist in a band while maturing as the head of her family.
Also claiming the award was Yen And Ai-Lee, a black-and-white drama with elements of black comedy in which a mother and daughter struggle to heal their relationship after a difficult past. Taiwanese director Lin is known for Winds Of September, Zinnia Flower and The Garden Of Evening Mists.
The male actor of the year award went to Korea’s Yoo Lee ha of The Final Semester, a coming-of-age drama that picked up three prizes at the festival’s Busan Vision Awards yesterday. The female actor of the year award was given to Korea’s Park Seoyun of mystery drama Humming.
The Land Of Morning Calm also collected the KB New Currents Audience Award while the Flash Forward Audience Award went to Costa Rica’s Memories Of A Burning Body by Antonella Sudasassi Furniss, which previously won the Panorama Audience Award at the Berlinale in February.
The BIFF Mecenat Award for documentaries went to Korea’s Works And Days by Park Minsoo, Ahn Kearnhyung and Another Home, a Taiwan-Hong Kong-France co-production directed by Frankie Sin.
The awards will be presented at the closing ceremony of the festival in South Korea this evening.
Festival organisers also confirmed that the 30th anniversary edition of the festival in 2025 will shift two weeks earlier as first revealed by Screen and is set take place from September 17-26. The Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM), the industry platform that runs alongside the festival, will take place from September 20-23.
To move is to accommodate Chusoek, the Korean Thanksgiving holiday season, which will fall from October 5-7 next year. It will see the events take place shortly after Venice (August 27 to September 6) and will narrowly avoid Toronto (September 4-14), of which both are staples for the Asian industry ahead of BIFF and ACFM.
Festival and industry figures
According to a report published by BIFF today, attendance reached 145,238 – up 2% on last year’s 142,432 – across the 10-day festival, with 84% of seats occupied across the screenings. The festival featured 224 films from 63 countries in its official selection.
Despite a 50% reduction in its national government subsidy, this year’s festival expanded its selection and added an additional venue to cope with the increase in screenings.
BIFF hosted 889 international visitors and 2,176 Korean guests.
The 29th edition ran from October 2-11, opening with Korean Netflix feature Uprising, and will close tonight with Eric Khoo’s Spirit World, starring Catherine Deneuve.
On the industry side, the Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) hosted 2,644 badge holders from 52 countries and 1,031 companies. This was up on 2023, which recorded 2,479 attendees (49 countries) and 918 companies.
Organisers also said that the ACFM drew 26,435 attendees over the four-day market, more than 37% up on last year’s 19,269 attendees.
On the sales front, a total of 275 companies (up slightly on 2023’s 271 companies) attended from 30 countries. Of these, 33 companies made their ACFM debut and pavilions from Italy, the UK, Hong Kong and Thailand were present.
The Asian Project Market (APM), which included 30 projects from 17 countries, generated 706 meetings from 142 countries and 156 participants. APM award winners were announced on Tuesday.
Busan 2024 winners
New Currents Award
The Land Of Morning Calm, dir. Park Ri-woong (S Kor)
MA – Cry Of Silence, dir. The Maw Naing (Myan-S Kor-Sing-Fr-Nor)
KIM Jiseok Award
Village Rockstars 2, dir. Rima Das (India-Sing)
Yen And Ai-Lee, dir. Tom Lin Shu-Yu (Tai)
BIFF Mecenat Award
Works And Days, dir. Park Minsoo, Ahn Kearnhyung (S Kor)
Another Home, dir. Frankie Sin (Tai-HK-Fr)
Sonje Award
Yurim, dir. Song Jiseo (S Kor)
A Garden In Winter, dirs. Eléonore Mahmoudian, Matsui Hiroshi (Japan-Fr)
Actor of the Year Male: Yoo Lee ha, dir. The Final Semester (S Kor)
Actor of the Year Female: Park Seoyun, Humming (S Kor)
KB New Currents Audience Award: The Land Of Morning Calm, dir. Park Ri-woong (S Kor)
Flash Forward Audience Award: Memories Of A Burning Body, Antonella Sudasassi Furniss (Costa Rica-Sp)
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