South Korea’s Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (Bifan) is further embracing AI with an opening film driven by the technology, a dedicated conference and an ambitious goal to train 10,000 filmmakers over the next five years.
The 29th edition of the genre festival, set to run from July 3-13, will open with the Asian premiere of About A Hero, a hybrid documentary that fed all of Werner Herzog’s screenplays into an AI programme to generate a script. Directed by Poland’s Piotr Winiewicz and starring Vicky Krieps, it previously debuted as the opening film of IDFA.
Bifan moved into AI last year with the launch of its first competition dedicated to films made using the fast-growing technology and a three-day AI conference and workshop.
The competition returns with 11 titles from the US, UK, South Korea and Japan among others. Some 350 submissions were received, a threefold increase on last year. Titles include Total Pixel Space from US artist Jacob Adler, which won the top award at the third AI Film Festival last week, and I’m The Lamb from Egyptian filmmakers Mahmoud Salah and Karim Moftah, which scooped a jury selection prize at short film competition Gen:48 last month.
Also set to return is Bifan’s AI International Conference, the main theme of which will be the convergence of the technology with extended reality (XR). A filmmaking workshop that incorporates AI will run parallel as part of its established Fantastic Film School, which has trained more than 400 alumni over the past 17 years.
Bifan has also committed to train 10,000 AI-based content creators over the next five years. “Bifan is founding the AI Visual Education Center Bucheon, which will host workshops year-round, thereby establishing a structured and ongoing educational framework aimed at cultivating the next generation of creators,” said festival organisers. Further details on this initiative are expected next month.
Much of the festival’s promotional materials are now generated using AI programmes such as Midjourney and ChatGPT.
Competition titles
At a press conference in Seoul yesterday (June 10), Bifan organisers unveiled the programme for its upcoming edition, which includes 103 features, 77 shorts, 11 AI films and 26 XR works.
The festival’s international feature competition, Bucheon Choice, comprises eight titles that includes body horror Together, directed by Michael Shanks and starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco, which premiered at Sundance and landed a lucrative worldwide deal with Neon.
Further titles include Taiwanese thriller 96 Minutes, which is set to open Taipei Film Festival next week; Alberto Sciamma’s surreal coming-of-age film Cielo; Canadian thriller Honey Bunch, which bowed at Berlin; and the world premiere of New Group by Japan’s Yuta Shimotsu (Best Wishes To All), which revolves around a human pyramid at a high school.
The competition also includes US sci-fi horror Redux Redux from Kevin McManus and Matthew McManus, which played SXSW; Reflection In A Dead Diamond by Bruno Forzani and Helene Zatte, which screened in Competition at the Berlinale; and The Ugly Stepsister from Norway’s Emilie Blichfeldt, which opened Sundance Midnight before also going on to Berlin.
The Korean Fantastic competition comprises eight titles spanning horror, thriller, comedy and animation led by Yoon Eunkyuong’s Sisterhood, which was selected for Cannes’ Fantastic 7 lineup.
Other sections include B My Guest: Filmmakers R&K, featuring works from Korean production company Filmmakers R&K; Body Horror: My Body Is Your Fantasy, a collection of recent features in the genre; Kim Tae-yong: The Warmth of Gaze, highlighting the work of the South Korean writer/director; and Higashino Keigo’s Galileo: The Irresistible Genius, which will introduce local audiences to works such as A Midsummer’s Equation and Silent Parade for the first time.
The festival will close with the world premiere of family drama The Go-To Restaurant, directed by South Korea’s Han Jay. It marks the first time a Korean title has closed Bifan in five years and organisers said its selection “extends a heartfelt message of support and encouragement to Korean cinema,” which has faced struggles to rebound post-pandemic.
As previously announced, this year’s actor in focus is Lee Byung Hun with a selection that includes 10 films from a 30-year career such as Joint Security Area and Concrete Utopia alongside a centrepiece talk with the performer, a commemorative exhibition and a publication to highlight his work.
Festival venues will include Bucheon City Hall, CGV Sopung, Bucheon Art Bunker B39, Bucheon Arts Center and the Webtoon Convergence Center.
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