31st Busan International Film Festival to screen 247 films ... 'The Day and the Night Are for Each Other' to premiere Oct. 6

Festival to be held across Busan for 10 days starting Oct. 6, with 14 competition entries and 64 industry programs

'A-list' festival becomes a hub for Asia's film industry

The '31st Busan International Film Festival' (BIFF), which has earned global recognition beyond Asia, will fill Busan with the excitement of the silver screen from Oct. 6 through Oct. 15, including at the Busan Cinema Center. The festival, held with the full support of the Busan Metropolitan Government, will present 247 carefully selected official invitations from 59 countries, drawing attention from the global film industry.

The festival will open with director Kim Jong-kwan's latest film, 'The Day and the Night Are for Each Other'. As a world premiere, the film's first screening anywhere in the world has heightened expectations among critics and audiences in South Korea and abroad. Fourteen films will compete in the section that offers a glimpse into the future of Asian cinema.

This year's festival further cemented its global standing by receiving official 'A-list' festival accreditation from the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF). In particular, the winner of the competition's top honor, the 'Busan Award Grand Prize', will receive direct eligibility to represent its country in the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film race. The move creates a powerful bridge for rough gems discovered in Busan to reach Hollywood's main stage.

Beyond simply screening films, Asia's largest film-industry business forum, spanning development, investment and distribution, will also open on a grand scale. The '21st Asian Contents & Film Market' (ACFM) will be held at Exhibition Hall 2 of BEXCO from Oct. 10 through Oct. 13. Sixty-four specialized programs across seven areas will cover intellectual property (IP) deals, global investment, cinematic artificial intelligence (AI), new media and the latest industry trends.

The festival is also bringing audiences closer than ever. Alongside signature programs such as 'Open Talk' and 'Actor's House,' which draw on 30 years of experience, it has significantly expanded participatory events that move beyond the Busan Cinema Center and into everyday life. In its sixth year, 'Neighborhood BIFF' has expanded beyond Busan to 17 regions nationwide, including Yangsan and Seoul. 'Community BIFF,' held around Nampo-dong in Jung-gu, will introduce a curator-led format in which audiences select the films to be screened. It plans to screen 69 films over 42 sessions, engaging directly with local residents.