Film fans flock to Busan festival despite scandal

In Might, there was discuss amongst South Korean movie lovers of whether or not the 2023 version of the Busan Worldwide Movie Pageant (BIFF), thought-about the 12 months’s most vital Asian film occasion, would happen.

Following the creation of a brand new managing director place that might relieve the pageant director of dealing with BIFF’s funds, director Huh Moon-young resigned — and all hell broke unfastened. The South Korean media then reported that an unnamed pageant worker had accused Huh of sexual harassment, and that the group itself was accused of making an attempt to cowl it up. Extra resignations ensued, together with that of chairman Lee Younger-kwan, one among BIFF’s founders.

Although the harassment allegations are nonetheless beneath investigation, BIFF opened on schedule Oct. 4 on the Busan Cinema Heart. The pageant assured the world it was again from the pandemic with the sort of flashy opening ceremony it’s identified for, however the selection of Tune Kang-ho (“Parasite”), essentially the most well-known South Korean actor on the earth, because the host was indicative of the provisional nature of the preparations. Usually, the pageant director is the host, however in the intervening time there’s solely an interim director — chief programmer Nam Dong-chul.