Old Boy star Choi Min Sik and Beau Is Afraid director Ari Aster helped open the 27th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (Bifan) in South Korea this evening (June 29), where Netflix K-drama D.P. received the Series Film Award.
Leading Korean actor Choi, who is also known for roles in I Saw the Devil, Shiri, Luc Besson’s Lucy and box office record holder The Admiral: Roaring Currents, is being feted with screenings of 12 features selected by the actor himself.
At the opening ceremony, the veteran actor said looking back on his films felt like “reading my diary… it’s embarrassing, emotional and exciting at the same time”. Choi added that he looked forward to his talk with the Bifan audience on Friday (June 30).
Aster, the US filmmaker behind Hereditary and Midsommar, made the trip to South Korea to introduce his latest feature, Beau Is Afraid, which stars Joaquin Phoenix and opened this year’s Bifan.
“I heard this is the festival for weird fucking movies made by sick and lonely people, so I’m happy to kick it off with a movie about a sad and lonely man,” said the director. “This movie has been splitting audiences down the middle, so half of you will like it, half of you will hate it. I hope you find each other after the film and fight, and I hope the people who like it win.”
Han Jun-hee’s popular Netflix series D.P. picked up the first prize of the festival, winning Bifan’s Series Film Award at the ceremony. The series, set in the South Korean military, returns for a second season on July 28.
The award was introduced last year and was won by Squid Game. Collecting the prize, director Han proclaimed his admiration for Bifan and said: “It’s so great to win this wonderful award from a festival I come to every year.”
At the festival in South Korea, the day began with torrential rain but the downpour relented as the red carpet got underway in the evening.
Carpet walkers, shielded from the elements by a large tent, included D.P. star Kim Sung-kyun and competition jury members Kim Sunyoung, Konaka Kazuya, Rich Cline and Kier-La Janisse. Also in attendance was veteran actor Ahn Sung-ki, who revealed last September that he was battling cancer but whose agency last month announced that he is now in recovery, who appeared with erstwhile co-star Park Joong-hoon.
The opening ceremony also saw Bifan festival director Shin Chul state their aim “to become a film festival that reaches toward the future”. He highlighted the slogan of the 2023 edition, “Cinema+,” signalling the festival’s stance on expanding cinema by collaborating with music, series, and webtoons.
“Bucheon has always been creative and not afraid of any challenges, so we’ll continue to look to the future,” added Shin.
Bifan runs from June 29 to July 9 with a programme of 262 films from 51 countries, comprising 121 features, 110 shorts and 31 XR titles. The festival is also celebrating the 50th anniversary of Bucheon’s incorporation as a city.
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