The 31st Busan International Film Festival will operate the competition section, newly created last year, for the second time.
Ahead of the festival, Chinese director Zhang Yimou was appointed chair of the jury.
This year’s Busan Awards results will be decided after this jury evaluates 13 competing films.
3-Line Summary
1. Zhang Yimou is the chair of the jury
2. The jury has 7 members, and there are 13 competing films
3. The awards results will be determined after the festival
Director Zhang Yimou and 6 Jury Members
The Busan International Film Festival announced 7 competition-section jury members on September 17. The jury chair is Chinese director Zhang Yimou. He has received the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for the film *Red Sorghum*, the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival for *The Story of Qiu Ju* and *A Tale of Three Cities*, and the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival for *To Live*.
The other participants in the judging are Chinese director Bi Gan, Kazakhstani actress Samal Yeslyamova, Japanese director Kei Ishikawa, South Korean director Jeong Juri, Vietnamese producer Tran Thi Bich Ngoc, and South Korean actress Choi Hee-seo. A feature of this year’s composition is that directors, actors, and a producer are participating together.
They will judge 13 films selected for the competition section. This is not an announcement that the winning films have been decided in advance, but an announcement confirming the roster that will conduct judging during the festival.
Prize Money Across 5 Busan Award Categories
The Busan Awards will be presented to the winning films in the competition section. There are 5 categories—the Grand Prize, Best Director, Special Jury Prize, Best Actor, and Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution—with total prize money of 1억1000만 won.
The festival said that the Grand Prize winner will be eligible to be submitted in the International Feature Film category at the U.S. Academy Awards. Accordingly, the competition section is not limited to screening invited films; its award results are also connected to subsequent submissions for international film awards.
The competition section was introduced for the first time last year. This year marks its second operation, and the appointment of the jury chair and jury members has been completed. The Grand Prize and the awards in each category have not yet been announced.
Held in Busan for 10 Days Starting October 6
The 31st Busan International Film Festival is scheduled to take place from October 6 to 15 around the Busan Cinema Center. The opening film has been selected as director Kim Jong-kwan’s romance drama *The Day and the Night Are Different from Each Other*.
The festival said it will screen a total of 315 films, including 246 officially invited films from 59 countries and 69 Community BIFF screening films. It was reported that all seats for the opening film, *The Day and the Night Are Different from Each Other*, sold out after reservations began on September 17.
The key point regarding this year’s competition section is not the personal career of director Zhang Yimou, but which film among the 13 will receive a Busan Award from the 7 jurors. What has been announced is the judging system and schedule; the award results can be confirmed after the festival ends.
References
Tags #BusanInternationalFilmFestival #BIFF #31stBusanInternationalFilmFestival #ZhangYimou #DirectorZhangYimou #BusanFilmFestival #BusanAwards #FilmFestivalCompetitionSection #BusanCinemaCenter #TheDayAndTheNightAreDifferentfromEachOther #KimJong-kwan #BusanInternationalFilmFestivalSchedule