217 Films from 41 Countries to Be Screened Until July 13
Special Retrospective for Lee Byunghun Also Featured
The 29th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN), known as a festival of experimental genre films, opened in grand style on July 3.
This year's opening ceremony was held at 7 p.m. at the Bucheon Art Center, hosted by actor Kang Seokwoo. The opening film was "Find Him," directed by Piotr Biniowiec. This film has been praised for its profound reflection on the balance between humanity and technology in the current creative environment increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
This year, the festival will screen 217 films from 41 countries. The lineup includes 103 feature films, 77 short films, 11 AI films, and 26 XR (extended reality) films.
The opening film is "Find Him" (2024), directed by Piotr Biniowiec. The story offers a deep reflection on the balance between humanity and technology in a creative environment increasingly led by AI technology.
A special retrospective of actor Lee Byunghun will also be held, allowing audiences to experience 10 of his representative works as he has grown into a global actor across various genres. Lee Byunghun is scheduled to meet audiences through a variety of programs, including the opening ceremony, Mega Talk, and stage greetings.
BIFAN will also showcase a wide range of works that have emerged at the intersection of technology and art, focusing on the convergence of AI and XR, such as "Mobile Suit Gundam: The Phantom of the Silver Ashes," directed by Kenichi Suzuki.
In addition, experimental genre films will be presented under various themes, including "B My Guest: Oeyunaegang," "Body Horror: My Body Is Your Fantasy," "Kim Taeyong: The Temperature of Gaze," and "Higashino Keigo's Galileo: Truly Interesting Genius."
The festival will run until July 13. Tickets are priced at 10,000 won for regular screenings and 20,000 won for late-night screenings. The main screening venues are Bucheon City Hall Fantastic Cube, CGV Sopung, Lotte Cinema Bucheon, and Bucheon Art Bunker B39. The full festival schedule is available on the festival's official website.
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