21st Busan International Film Festival

21st Busan International Film Festival
Opening filmA Quiet Dream
Closing filmThe Dark Wind
LocationBusan Cinema Center
Founded1995
Hosted bySol Kyung-gu
Han Hyo-joo
Festival dateOpening: October 6, 2016 (2016-10-06)
Closing: October 15, 2016 (2016-10-15)
Busan International Film Festival

The 21st Busan International Film Festival was held from October 6 to October 15, 2016 at the Busan Cinema Center and was hosted by Sol Kyung-gu and Han Hyo-joo. A total of 301 films from 69 countries were screened at the festival, including 96 world premieres and 27 international premieres.[1][2][3]

A new Vision-Director Award was given to two promising directors of newly produced independent films in the Korean Cinema Today-Vision section, who have shown the most outstanding production skills. The winner will get a cash prize reward of 5,000 USD sponsored by MEGABOX.[4]

Five major South Korean domestic filmmakers' groups, including the Producers' Guild of Korea and the Directors' Guild of Korea, have boycotted this year's festival over a bitter dispute with the municipal government of Busan since the screening in 2014 of a controversial documentary about the Sewol ferry disaster in spite of the opposition from Busan mayor and BIFF organizing committee Chairman Suh Byung-soo.[5][6][7]

  1. ^ Conran, Pierce (9 September 2016). "ZHANG Lu's A Quiet Dream to Open 21st BIFF". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
  2. ^ Lee, Hyo-won (6 September 2016). "Busan Film Festival Unveils Lineup Amid Ongoing Power Struggle". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  3. ^ Lee, Hyo-won (26 July 2016). "Busan Film Festival: South Korean Industry to Vote on End of Boycott". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  4. ^ Lee, Hyo-won (14 October 2016). "Busan: Vision Awards Go to South Korean Indie Filmmakers". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  5. ^ Shim, Sun-ah (6 October 2016). "(LEAD) Busan film festival opens after two tumultuous years". Yonhap. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  6. ^ "Crisis-hit Busan Film Festival opens". Japan Today. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  7. ^ Lee, Hyo-won (4 October 2016). "How the Busan Film Festival Is Bouncing Back Despite Political Pressure". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2016-10-07.