[2026 BIFF] Ann Hui wins Camellia Award, Michelle Yeoh named Asia Filmmaker of the Year as 31st Busan International Film Festival opens

The 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) opened with a grand ceremony at the Busan Cinema Center in Haeundae, Busan, kicking off Asia's largest film festival.

This year BIFF moved its opening day up by one day from Wednesday to Tuesday. Organizers said the change was made after noting that audience attendance and screenings tend to concentrate in the festival’s first week. From Thursday through Sunday, organizers increased screening slots from four to five per day to give audiences a broader range of choices. The opening ceremony was streamed live exclusively on Naver Chijijik at 6 p.m., allowing viewers who could not attend in person to share the moment online.

The ceremony was hosted by actress Kim Min-ha. At the opening ceremony, actor Michelle Yeoh and director Ann Hui claimed two of the event’s major honors.

The 2026 "Asia Filmmaker of the Year Award," presented to the individual who has made the most prominent contributions to the development of Asia's film industry and culture, went to actor Michelle Yeoh. Michelle Yeoh, who became the first actor of Asian descent to win the Academy Award for Best Actress for 〈Everything Everywhere All at Once〉 (2022), took the stage to accept the honor. Audience members and film professionals in attendance gave enthusiastic applause for her role in elevating Asian cinema worldwide. BIFF programmed a special retrospective titled "Michelle Yeoh: All Times, All Places" to spotlight her filmography.

The 2026 Camellia Award, jointly established by BIFF and Chanel, was awarded to Ann Hui, a leading figure of the Hong Kong New Wave. The Camellia Award was created to highlight the creativity and achievements of women filmmakers who have raised the status of women in the film industry and opened new paths. It was inspired by the camellia, Busan’s city flower and a favorite of Chanel founder Gabrielle Chanel. The award’s previous recipients were art director Ryu Seong-hee of Korea in 2024 and Sylvia Chang of Taiwan in 2025.

Accepting the award to applause from the audience and film community, Ann Hui said, "I thank Chanel and the Busan International Film Festival for this honor," and added that receiving the Camellia Award felt especially meaningful now that making films has become increasingly difficult as she approaches eighty.

Ann Hui’s career is, in many ways, the history of Hong Kong cinema. Beginning with her 1979 feature debut, she has directed 27 feature films and two feature-length documentaries to date. She has won the Hong Kong Film Awards Best Director prize six times and the Golden Horse Awards Best Director prize three times. Notably, with 〈Summer Snow〉 (1995) and 〈A Simple Life〉 (2011), she swept the Hong Kong Film Awards Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress awards, achieving a grand slam. She has also received the 2012 Asian Film Awards Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2014 BIFF Asia Filmmaker of the Year Award, and the 2020 Venice International Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award (Honorary Golden Lion), cementing her reputation as a global master beyond Asia.

This year BIFF programmed a total of 316 films from 59 countries, including 69 titles in the Community BIFF section. Screenings were held across eight theaters and 31 screens in Busan, including the Busan Cinema Center. News of overseas film-industry visitors continued to emerge: actor-director Maggie Gyllenhaal, who served as jury president of the Venice International Film Festival’s main competition this year, planned her first trip to Korea for the festival; Academy Award-winning director Alfonso Cuarón also confirmed attendance, as did France’s leading actors Isabelle Huppert and Charlotte Gainsbourg.

The festival also rolled out an extensive slate of special programs. The festival staged "Beautiful Times, Ahn Sung-ki," honoring actor Ahn Sung-ki’s contributions to Korean cinema, and "Japanese Animation Special Exhibition: Masterpieces of Madness, Anticipated Thrills 12+1," spanning the past and present of Japanese animation. BIFF also organized a discussion forum. From October 8 to 11, the festival hosted "Forum BIFF" at the Media Industry Center and the Busan Citizens' Media Center. This year’s forum, titled "Discussing the Possibilities of Contemporary Cinema," was designed to take stock of the current state of film amid rapidly changing industry, technology and policy environments. Community BIFF and Neighborhood BIFF expanded their stages beyond Nampo-dong, where BIFF began, to venues across Busan as well as to Yangsan and Seoul.

The 21st Asia Contents & Film Market (ACFM), the business platform for Asia’s film and content industries, was scheduled to take place from October 10 to 13 over four days at BEXCO Exhibition Hall 2. The market will feature 64 programs across seven sections, and Thailand participated as this year’s guest country for the first time. The 31st Busan International Film Festival runs through October 15 at the Busan Cinema Center and venues across the city.