The Busan International Film Festival’s audience-driven, community-focused program Community BIFF celebrates its ninth edition under the slogan ‘Made by Audience,’ offering a film festival open to almost every possibility that can be created together with audiences through their voluntary participation.

First, ‘Request Cinema’ invites audiences to become programmers and design the festival they imagine, with the Festival providing practical support to bring their ideas to life. This year, it received a record 92 proposals encompassing a total of 209 films. Following a public vote involving 5,035 audience members and an in-depth evaluation, 18 programs were selected. The lineup also includes ‘Master Talk,’ which invites audiences to rediscover the true value of films through live commentary by directors and actors and real-time Q&A via open chat, as well as ‘The Cinephiles Strike Back,’ which offers the thrill and intellectual stimulation of watching two films back-to-back without any prior information. Both ‘Master Talk’ and ‘The Cinephiles Strike Back’ will expand to two sessions this year.

Other programs include ‘Community BIFF Collection,’ which explores popular culture across a wide range of genres; ‘All Day Cinema,’ which examines changes in Korean society, science and technology, and the film industry; and ‘Happy-Go-Lucky Night,’ which brings out the distinctive appeal of late-night screenings with food and drinks. Together, these programs offer new festival experiences that go beyond the conventional boundaries of a film festival.