Ten Films Selected for Busan International Film Festival 'New Currents' Revealed
Jury Includes Serge Toubiana, Girodi, Gase Ryo, and Others
The Busan International Film Festival offers a glimpse into the future of Asian cinema through its 'New Currents' section. This competitive category discovers and showcases gem-like works and emerging directors. This year, ten films will be screened, including Kubota Nao's Senya Ichiya (Japan) and Tiffany Luswan's Blue Revisited (Thailand).
Senya Ichiya tells the stories of people who have lost or are losing someone, revealing the secrets of time in an original way. Nader Saeivar's No End (Iran/Germany/Turkey) portrays a man exposed to immense violence triggered by a trivial lie. The film is notable for its exquisitely interlocking beginning and end. Sam Kua's Place of Silence (Malaysia/Taiwan) presents a serial murder scene and its background through a meticulous plot and fast-paced development.
Two Indian films are featured. That Woman Shibamma by Jaishankar Ariyar and That Winter by Amir Bashir. The former persistently follows the struggles of an uneducated, poor middle-aged woman. The latter depicts the hardships and anguish of a woman set against the backdrop of Kashmir, where frequent skirmishes and terrorism occur.
Director Heo Shuming, who has established his position through numerous short films, joins the lineup with Ajumma (Singapore/South Korea). Singaporean national actor Hong Huipang collaborates with domestic actors Yeo Jin-gu, Jung Dong-hwan, and Kang Hyung-seok. Screenwriter Tiffany Luswan makes her directorial debut with Blue Revisited. The festival describes it as "an autobiographical work that highlights delicate sensibilities." Also noteworthy is Memento Mori: Earth (Vietnam) by Marcus Bu Main Kkeong, a former film journalist, which captures the heavy themes of life and death with beautiful imagery.
Two domestic films will be screened: Goein by Lee Jeong-hong and Long Live Hell by Lim Oh-jung. The former tells the story of a man working as a carpenter and those around him caught up in a mysterious incident, drawing attention with its unique rhythm and deep afterimages. The latter follows the adventure of two girls who set out to take revenge on the villains who tormented them, delivering fresh entertainment through bold planning and imagination.
The jury includes Serge Toubiana, president of UniFrance, director Alain Girod, director Camilla Andini, actor Gase Ryo, and producer Lee Yoo-jin. President Toubiana served as editor-in-chief of the French film magazine Cahiers du Cin?ma for 26 years and was a former director of the Cin?math?que Fran?aise. He has also served as a juror at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival.
Director Girod received the 'Un Certain Regard' Best Director award at Cannes for The Stranger by the Lake (2013). Director Andini, an Indonesian female filmmaker, won the Toronto International Film Festival's Platform Prize for Yuni (2021). Gase Ryo is an actor who has starred in works by renowned Japanese directors such as Takeshi Kitano, Hirokazu Koreeda, and Kiyoshi Kurosawa. He has appeared in numerous international films including Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima (2006), Hong Sang-soo's Hill of Freedom (2014), and Martin Scorsese's Silence (2017). Producer Lee Yoo-jin is known for films such as Jeon Woo-chi (2008), The Priests (2015), and Broker (2022).
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