Park Chan-wook X BIFF, 'No Other Choice' Selected as Opening Film of Busan International Film Festival

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Busan International Film Festival, which has selected Park Chan-wook's new film as its opening film.

The Busan International Film Festival will be held from September 17 (Wednesday) to 26 (Friday), and the opening film was announced on August 4. The film selected as the opening film is Park Chan-wook's new work 〈No Other Choice〉. Following its invitation to the competition section of the Venice International Film Festival, it will meet audiences as the opening film at the most visited film festival in Korea.

〈No Other Choice〉 tells the story of an office worker, 'Mansu' (Lee Byung-hun), who felt satisfied with life to the point of feeling that he had 'achieved everything,' but after being suddenly fired, he prepares for his own war towards re-employment to protect his wife and two children and to keep the house he worked hard to acquire. It is adapted from Donald Westlake's novel 「The Ax」. With a star-studded cast including Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran, and Cha Seung-won, expectations are high as it is a long-dreamed live-action adaptation by Park Chan-wook.

Jung Han-seok, the executive committee chairman of the Busan International Film Festival, stated, "I am thrilled and excited to think that we can enjoy the story that Park Chan-wook has always wanted to tell together with many audiences on the first day of this year's film festival. I hope that the selection of this film as the opening film of the Busan International Film Festival will increase interest in this work and lead to a positive space that enhances interest in Korean cinema."