Guillermo del Toro and Sean Baker Visit Korea... The 30th Busan International Film Festival Welcomes World-Class Masters!

Guillermo del Toro and director Sean Baker are visiting Korea for the 30th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). This year's Busan International Film Festival will be held for ten days from September 17 to 26 at the Busan Cinema Center, and it is attracting attention as it celebrates its 30th anniversary with the largest number of overseas masters and actors in history attending.

World-Class Masters Visiting Korea

Mexican master director Guillermo del Toro will present his Netflix original new work 〈Frankenstein〉 and meet directly with Korean audiences. Additionally, American director Sean Baker, who won five awards including Best Picture and Best Director at the 97th Academy Awards, will also visit Busan. Sean Baker will participate in the festival as a co-writer and producer of the competing film 〈The Florida Project〉.

Star Directors and Actors Gather

This year, BIFF will also welcome major figures from the global film industry, including Michael Mann, Jafar Panahi, Juliette Binoche, Bong Joon-ho, Park Chan-wook, Kogonada, Ken Watanabe, Shun Oguri, Seo Gi, Kyung-lim, and Heo Kwang-han. The festival's feature is that masters and newcomers from various countries will interact in various sections, including special programs and competition sections, promoting the leap of the Asian film industry.

Changes in the Film Festival, Including New Competition Section

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Busan International Film Festival, a new competition section has been established for the first time, featuring 14 new Asian films competing. The opening film is Park Chan-wook's 〈Decision to Leave〉, and the closing film will be selected as the winner of the competition section. Chairman Park Kwang-soo and Executive Committee Chairman Jeong Han-seok stated, "We expect a new leap for BIFF with the new format of the competition section and a rich lineup of invited guests."