When the sweltering heat gives way to cool, gentle breezes, it marks that time of the year when Korea’s coastal city of Busan brims with cinephiles.

The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), kicking off at the Busan Cinema Center in Haeundae District on Wednesday, is marking its 30th anniversary.


The festival, which will run until Sept. 26, is taking things up a notch, inviting legendary auteurs from around the world like Marco Bellocchio, Guillermo del Toro and Jafar Panahi — who won the Palme d'Or at this year’s Cannes — alongside star actors, including Milla Jovovich and Gwei Lun-mei.

The festival's director, Jung Han-seok, described the lineup as “monumental, the largest and finest in the history of BIFF” during a press conference for the festival on Aug. 26.

A total of 328 films — including 241 official selections from 64 countries and 87 titles featured in the festival’s side program, Community BIFF — are scheduled to be screened across seven theaters in Busan, including the Busan Cinema Center, CGV Centum City and Dongseo University Sohyang Theatre ShinhanCard Hall.

The film festival will open with director Park Chan-wook’s latest black comedy, “No Other Choice,” which recently competed at the Venice International Film Festival that finished on Sept. 6.

“No Other Choice” features a seasoned cast, including Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Lee Sung-min, Park Hee-soon and Yeom Hye-ran. The film follows Man-soo, portrayed by Lee Byung-hun, a middle-aged man who is abruptly laid off from his company and resorts to extreme measures in his desperate search for new employment.

Numerous programs, special screenings and world premieres are scheduled during the festival, including Korea’s first-ever sing-along event for Netflix’s hit animated film “KPop Demon Hunters.”

The sing-along screening will take place at 8 p.m. on Saturday at the Dongseo University Sohyang Theatre ShinhanCard Hall, where fans can belt out songs like “Golden” and “Soda Pop” together with fellow film lovers.

For this year’s Actors’ House, a special BIFF fan meet and greet event, actors Kim You-jung, Son Ye-jin, Lee Byung-hun and Japanese actor Kazunari Ninomiya will take part, sharing their stories as actors.

The festival’s Special Program in Focus section will feature five programs, including retrospectives honoring Italian filmmaker Marco Bellocchio and French actress Juliette Binoche.

Also, as part of the Special Program in Focus section, the festival will debut Carte Blanche, a program where prominent figures from the film and cultural industry select a film meaningful to them and discuss it with the audience. Directors Bong Joon-ho, Maggie Kang, actor Gang Dong-won, novelist Eun Hui-gyeong and journalist Sohn Suk-hee will each lead a session. As for “KPop Demon Hunters” director Kang, she will discuss director Bong’s “The Host" (2006).

Korean films set for world premieres at the festival include Netflix’s “The Great Flood”; “Boss,” starring Jung Kyung-ho; “The People Upstairs,” directed by actor Ha Jung-woo; and “Audition 109,” the sequel to the film “Wish" (2009), all under the Korea Cinema Today section. The film “Seven O’Clock Breakfast Club for the Brokenhearted,” starring singer-actor Suzy and actor Lee Jin-uk, will premiere worldwide at the festival, as well.

International films are also set to make their worldwide debuts, such as “5 Centimeters Per Second,” the live-action adaptation of the hit Japanese animated film of the same name; “The Final Piece,” starring actors Ken Watanabe and Kentaro Sakaguchi; and “Measure in Love,” featuring Kuang-han Hsu and Angela Yuen.

For the first time, BIFF has introduced a Competition section, featuring 14 films from Asian countries, aiming to shed light on Asian films and present a fresh perspective on Asian cinema through the eyes of the continent, according to BIFF. The winner, along with honors such as Best Actor and the Special Jury Prize, will be announced at the closing ceremony. Previously, the festival was noncompetitive, though accolades like The Asian Filmmaker of the Year, the Korean Cinema Award and the Camellia Award were presented each year during the opening ceremony.

This year’s The Asian Filmmaker of the Year award, given to an Asian filmmaker who has made exceptional contributions to the Asian film industry and culture, will go to Iranian director Jafar Panahi, who won the Palme d'Or at Cannes for “It was Just an Accident” this year. The Korean Cinema Award, recognizing contributions to bringing Korean cinema to global audiences, will be presented to Korean director Chung Ji-young, known for his works on Korean historical events. The Camellia Award, honoring individuals who have advanced women’s roles in cinema, will be presented to Taiwanese filmmaker Sylvia Chang.

The opening and closing ceremonies are also star-studded, with actor Lee Byung-hun hosting the opening and Claudia Kim hosting the closing.

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]