The 27th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, October 5-14) has revealed the 10 titles selected for the New Currents Award, the festival’s main competition section for Asian films.
The line-up includes No End by Iranian director Nader Saeivar, marking his second feature after The Alien, co-written by Jafar Panahi, which debuted at the Berlinale in 2020 and picked up prizes at Hong Kong and Beijing film festivals. Saeivar also co-wrote Panahi’s 3 Faces, which played in Competition at Cannes in 2018, winning best screenplay.
Scroll down for full list
From Malaysia, A Place Called Silence also marks the second film by Sam Quah, whose crime thriller Sheep Without A Shepherd won the audience award at Bifan in 2020 after scoring box office success in China.
Japan’s Nao Kubota returns with Thousand And One Nights after debuting with Homeland at the Berlinale in 2014. Also selected is The Winter Within, Indian actor/director Aamir Bashir’s follow-up to Autumn, which received its world premiere at Toronto in 2010 before going on to win best feature in Urdu at India’s National Film Awards.
There are two titles from South Korea – Lim Oh-jeong’s Hail To Hell and Lee Jeong-hong’s A Wild Roomer – as well as the first official Singapore-Korea co-production, Ajoomma by He Shuming, on which Rediance has boarded sales.
All are world premieres.
The New Currents strand is open to first or second features from up-and-coming Asian filmmakers, which are in the running for several prizes including the New Currents Award, the Fipresci Award, the NETPAC Award, and the KB New Currents Audience Award. The awards will be announced at the festival’s closing ceremony on October 14.
The jury, presided over by Unifrance president Serge Toubiana, was announced last week.
Earlier this week, BIFF announced the launch of a new competitive section titled Jiseok, unveiling eight films in the running for its awards.
Busan New Currents selection 2022
Ajoomma (Sing-Kor)
Dir. He Shuming
Blue Again (Thai)
Dir. Thapanee Loosuwan
Hail To Hell (Kor)
Dir. Lim Oh-jeong
Memento Mori: Earth (Viet)
Dir. Marcus Vu Manh Cuong
No End (Ger-Iran-Turkey)
Dir. Nader Saeivar
A Place Called Silence (Malay)
Dir. Sam Quah
Shivamma (India)
Dir. Jaishankar Aryar
Thousand And One Nights (Jap)
Dir. Nao Kubota
A Wild Roomer (Kor)
Dir. Lee Jeong-hong
The Winter Within (India-Fr-Qat)
Dir. Aamir Bashir
No comments yet