Announcement of 5 Judges Including Lee Myung-se and Joo Dong-woo
The 29th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) announced on the 20th that director Mohamed Rasoulof (Iran) has been selected as the jury president for the New Currents competition, the Asian film competition section.
Director Rasoulof is a filmmaker who has faced relentless oppression from the Iranian government. After winning the Un Certain Regard award at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival for "Manuscripts Don't Burn," his passport was confiscated. When his film "There Is No Evil," which won the Golden Bear at the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival, was released, he was banned from attending the festival. In 2022, he served a prison sentence for criticizing and inciting against the government. Ahead of completing "A Seed of a Sacred Tree," which won the Jury Prize at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for allegedly conspiring to threaten national security. During the Cannes Film Festival, he sought asylum in the West, gaining international attention.
New Currents is the representative competition section showcasing the first or second feature films by emerging directors who illuminate the future of Asian cinema. Two films selected as the best works will each receive a prize of $30,000 (39.94 million KRW). Alongside director Rasoulof, the jury includes director Lee Myung-se (Korea), actor Zhu Dongwu (China), actress Kani Kusruti (India), and Banja Kaludjer?i?, executive director of the Rotterdam Film Festival (Netherlands).
(From left, clockwise) Director Lee Myung-se, actor Joo Dong-woo, actor Kani Kusuruti, Vanya Kaludjer?i?, Rotterdam Film Festival Executive Director[Photo provided by Busan Film Festival]
Director Lee Myung-se, known for films such as "No Mercy for the Rude" (1999), is regarded as the most outstanding stylist in the history of Korean cinema. Actor Zhu Dongwu received the Best Actress award at the three major Chinese-language film festivals at the youngest age through "Soul Mate" (2016) and "Better Days" (2019). Actress Kani Kusruti won Best Actress awards at numerous film festivals for "Biriyaani" (2019), and this year received the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival for her lead role in "Girls Will Be Girls" and the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for "All That We Imagine as Light."
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