The 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has unveiled the lineup and schedule for three of its fan-facing programs: Open Talk, Outdoor Stage Greeting and Talk-to-Talk. Held at the Busan Cinema Center Roof Theater and the HANMAC Smooooth Lounge, the sessions give audiences a chance to meet directors and cast members from a wide range of Korean and international selections.
Open Talk opens Oct. 7 with director Lee Chang-dong and stars Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong for “Possible Love,” followed by “Cattle Run,” bringing director Kim Ji-hyun together with Ryu Seung-ryong, Park Hae-jun, Ong Seong-wu and Lee Sang-hee, and “The Table: Day and Night,” pairing director Kim Jong-kwan with Kim Min-ha, Joo Jong-hyuk, Han Sun-hwa, Shim Eun-kyung, Jeon So-young and Kim Dong-hwi.
A “BIFF Discoveries: Rising New Talents” session on Oct. 10 features Jeon So-young and Kim Dong-hwi from “The Table: Day and Night” alongside Sim Su-bin, who appears in both “The Birds” and “The World Before.” The program closes Oct. 13 with Isabelle Huppert and director Marc Fitoussi discussing their collaboration on “All About Corinne.”
Oct. 8 brings director July Jung with Kim Doyeon and Choi Wonyoung for “Dora”; director Kim Joung-hoon with Kim Jae-won, Cho Yi-hyun, Kang You-seok and Bae Gang-hee for “Final Interview”; a second “BIFF Discoveries” session featuring Kim Doyeon from “Dora”; director Hong Sung-min with Jung Sung-il and Park Ji-hyun for “Sinner”; director Song Il-gon with Kim Hye-ja, Park Seo-kyung, Choi Ju-eun, Moon Seong-hyun and Lee Seyoung for “Still Shining”; director Kamila Andini and producer Ifa Isfansyah with Putri Marino, Christine Hakim and Arya Saloka for “Four Seasons in Java”; director Takemura Kentaro with Michieda Shunsuke and Anzai Seira for “In the Clear Moonlit Dusk”; and actors Michelle Mao and Jin Ha for “zi.”
Talk-to-Talk splits between the Roof Theater and the HANMAC Smooooth Lounge. At the Roof Theater on Oct. 10, “Women Directors: Taking the Scene” gathers Margherita Ferrari, Marjan Khosravi, May El-Youkhy, Michelle Zhou, Zainab Entezar, Jacqueline Lentzou and Julie Lecoustre. At the HANMAC Smooooth Lounge, Majid Majidi discusses his career from “Children of Heaven” to “Midday Meal” on Oct. 9, followed by four “Vision Korea” panels on Oct. 10 and Oct. 11 connecting directors and actors from “Things I Left at the Theater,” “Not for You” and “The Flower”; “Earbug,” “Some Detective” and “Nothing Has Happened Yet”; “The Birds,” “Space” and “Cosmic Trace”; and “Baler,” “Beyond Love’s Horizon” and “Full Moon.”
A session titled “Asian Cinema Through Global Eyes” brings together Martine Therouanne of the Vesoul International Festival of Asian Cinema, Sabrina Baracetti of the Udine Far East Film Festival, Jeon Hyejung of the London East Asia Film Festival, Samuel Jamier of the New York Asian Film Festival and Teruoka Sozo of the Osaka Asian Film Festival. Directors Marco Nguyen and Nicolas Athané appear for “The Hottest Virus of the Year, ‘Jim Queen,’” and the program closes Oct. 13 with Kim Ah-young and Kim Seulki discussing their move from “SNL Korea” to film.
The 31st Busan International Film Festival will run Oct. 6-15 at the Busan Cinema Center and venues throughout Busan, with the 21st Asian Contents & Film Market held Oct. 10-13.
