We’ve already made it through the first quarter of the 21st century. Cinema’s been around for over 130 years—and this year marks the 30th anniversary of the Busan International Film Festival. A film festival is both a place to celebrate cinema’s richness and a community where people discover and cheer each other on. Every year, people gather to share this journey of film—and we’d love for you to be part of it this time around.

The title The Kinder Programmer highlights both responsibility and kindness. A programmer has the responsibility of selecting and presenting the films shown at the festival. Kindness, meanwhile, is about being attentive and caring toward others and toward the unfamiliar. The late-night screening program Happy-Go-Lucky Night, where audiences gather to watch films, eat, drink, and talk until dawn, perfectly shows this spirit of generosity. For just 25,000 KRW, participants get three films along with drinks and food—you really can't beat that deal. The program will also host a guest visit with Director Kim Min-ha for Idiot Girls and School Ghost: School Anniversary (2024), a memorial talk by music director Mowg for David Lynch's Wild at Heart (2000), and a conversation with Director Lee Myung-sae following Their Last Love Affair (1996). While we can't be blamed for the waves of longing that may rise like the tides at Dadaepo Beach, those curious about whether they can last until the first morning train are definitely encouraged to give it a try.

Community BIFF, now in its eighth year within the Busan International Film Festival, operates under the slogan "Made by Audience." This program shows that regardless of where you are in life, everyone can create and share common feelings while viewing the same images at the same moment. The starting point of this effort is recommendations. By suggesting films and fun add-on events, participants actively help shape the festival. For the festival’s 30th anniversary, the Request Cinema program limited submissions to past BIFF titles. A total of 87 proposals were received, representing 180 different films. Following 5,268 audience votes, 13 films were selected. The program also highlights anniversaries: Duelist (2005, 20th anniversary), The Shameless (2015, 10th anniversary), The Superpower (2015, 10th anniversary), and next year’s commemoration of The World of Us (2016, 10th anniversary). In addition, an online GV will be held for Our Little Sister (2015), which won the Japan Manga Award.

Filmmaker Kore-eda Hirokazu once wrote that "a film festival is the joy of participating as a single drop of water flowing within the great river of cinema." To spread this joy of gathering as droplets, Community BIFF organizes free screenings and outdoor screenings, while the BIFF Everywhere program this year expands to fifteen locations beyond Busan. Audiences can, for example, experience the online talk of Our Little Sister (2015) and then enjoy Still Walking (2008) at MOMOS COFFEE Yeongdo Roastery & Coffee Bar, where baristas have selected the film as their choice. Following the screening of Park Chan-wook's The Handmaiden (2016), scriptwriter Chung Seo-kyung will host a book talk at a café, while the BIFF Everywhere program at Busan Bank's headquarters will feature actress Uhm Ji-won reflecting on memorable scenes and acting experiences from the drama Little Women (2022). In these ways, the festival deepens its community connections.

Writer Seong Haena once mentioned in an interview that she particularly loves the word "collection," which means "to seek widely and gather together." The act of creation often involves selecting and mixing memories gathered through countless encounters. In publishing, this becomes 'editing'; in broadcasting, 'programming.' Documentaries within Request Cinema such as Poets' Window (2021), Piano Prism (2021), Sura: A Love Song (2023), and Fanatic (2021), show alternative lifestyles and create spaces for public discussion.

The role of the programmer, then, is to observe what connects with audiences, understand the emotional currents of our time, and create stories that communicate these feelings to society. Since 2018, this selection process has been enriched by collaborators like Director Owen Cho, Community BIFF team, BIFF Everywhere team, and the festival's publicity office, whose combined efforts have helped shape and share the brand's unique appeal. In the preface to actress Kim Shin-rock's interview book ‘Actor to Actor’ one line really stands out: "My colleagues are my milestones.“

Community BIFF also hosts the Community BIFF Collection, a program that invites artists who've established unique styles across different cultural fields like film, publishing, music, and new media. This year's theme is books. Within the film industry, a screenplay has often been called a "book," a text that imagines what a film might become. Beyond screenplays, there's a wealth of publications—interview collections, storyboard volumes, photo books, essays, and original novels. To celebrate the 30th anniversaries of ‘Cine21’ and ‘Kino’, the festival presents reading lists such as 'Cine21's Ten Recommended Film Books' and Director Jung Sung-il's 'Ten Books for the Film Lover.' Novelist Park Sang Young, author of both the original novel and the drama adaptation of Love in the Big City (2024), will also participate, alongside Alain Guiraudie's Stranger by the Lake (2013), and the outdoor talk, A Heart That Wants to Become One-Dimensional at BIFF Square.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of band Sister's Barbershop, led by musician and writer Lee Seok-won—someone who's succeeded in both the music and publishing industries. Similarly, actor Park Jeong Min, now also the head of his own publishing company MUZE, is a rare case of achieving recognition in both film and literary worlds. Let the Right One In (2008), the Swedish novel-based film that sparked a nationwide re-release, shows this cultural connection.

In the Svaha: The Sixth Finger (2018) Master Talk, actor Park Jeong Min will talk with Director Jang Jae-hyun, a ten-million-viewer filmmaker known not only for his film skills but also for his deeply human qualities. Park describes this film as "a sad yet quietly comforting work," one that has provided him with personal healing. This year's Bechdel Choice selection HI-FIVE (2025) will also feature fresh performances by actress Lee  Jae-in.

Meanwhile, The Solitary Gourmet (2024) —a project connecting drama, animation, and cinema—will be presented through Eats Cinema, an event that lets audiences enjoy food culture alongside film. Here, viewers will taste the collaboration of architect Sangji Architecture, Dukwha Food, and chef-writer Park Chanil, who's long written about food culture, through the unique pairing of Joseon Pollack Roe Butter baguettes with film viewing.

Iwai Shunji’s All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001), inspired by his experience of watching Faye Wong perform in Hong Kong, remains a landmark film with a devoted following. This year, it will be accompanied by an online talk with the director himself. Another highlight is Interstella 5555: Daft Punk Universe, a dialogue-free rock music space odyssey born from the collaboration between manga legend Leiji Matsumoto, famous for Galaxy Express 999, and the iconic electronic duo Daft Punk. First screened at BIFF’s 8th Wide Angle program, it carries special meaning this year. The enduring cultural influence of Daft Punk—who released only four albums across 28 years—will be explored in a session with the electronica trio IDIOTAPE and music critic HAVAQQUQ. The alternative group Balming Tiger will also present its original rhythms and sounds in Balming Tiger: SOMENOISE, a program featuring music videos created in collaboration with filmmakers, followed by a talk session hosted by YouTuber wooki POP.

Community BIFF is built on two main pillars: Experience and Participation. This year, leading science scholars—including Professors Jeong Jae-seung, Jeon Eun-ji, and Oh Young-jin—will join us for special sessions. Through live commentary, Q&As, and creative discussions about alternate endings, these events invite viewers to experience film in playful and unexpected ways.

The All-Day Cinema program, which gathers films around shared themes for a full-day deep dive, will feature HI-FIVE (2025) and My Best, Your Least (2024), both chosen by the Directors Guild of Korea (DGK) for the Bechdel Choice 10. Following the screenings, audiences can join talks with this year’s, producer Lee An-na, and editor Nam Na-young for HI-FIVE (2025), and with actresses Jang Yoon-ju and Choi  Soo-in for My Best, Your Least (2024). Another highlight is Non-linear Movements of Women: Yesterday and Today, curated by the Women Directors’ Network (WDN), offering a stage for emerging directors to share the energy of fresh beginnings.

Beyond the screen, local partners—including Busan University of Foreign Studies’ Glocal Marketer Center, Busan Council on Social Welfare, Busan Technical High School Alumni Association, and Village Filmmaking Project—celebrate participation by encouraging the dreams of young people and local communities alike.

We want our festival to be a vibrant “attitude and attempt,” leaving traces on your everyday life and imagination through playful experimentation and serious conversation. Director Park Chan-wook once remarked a film festival can be a treasure island or a minefield, but Community BIFF is a treasure hunt playground.

If you want to discover your own taste among the fair of diverse preferences, we recommend K-Arts Showcase: A 30th Anniversary of School of Film, TV & Multimedia, which runs for three days. You can enjoy it at the special price of 6,000 KRW, and there are plenty of free outdoor screenings and talks. Celebrating both CJ ENM and K-Arts School of Film, TV & Multimedia’s 30th anniversaries, the omnibus film Project 30, created by 30 directors, will have its world premiere. Watch their shorts alongside their features and cinematographers, and imagine those saplings growing into a flourishing forest.

The Cinephiles Strike Back—the biggest cultural event of the year—brings together director Jung Sung-il and writer Seong Haena. They'll secretly choose films to watch back-to-back with zero information, followed by deep conversations. What are beloved novelist Seong Haena's favorite films?

Community BIFF lets you meet the people you admire up close. In Nampo-dong—home to Korean cinema's firsts like Joseon Kinema Productions in 1924 and BIFF in 1996—our 30th festival kicks off with BADA from S.E.S and closes with Say Sue Me Band. Actor Jung Woo, star and co-director of AUDITION 109 (2025), sequel to the unofficial ten-million-viewer hit, Wish (2009), returns successful.

Instead of the 1996 favorites Fargo (1996) and Secrets and Lies (1996) from the first BIFF, we’ll screen outdoor crowd pleasers like Comrades: Almost a Love Story (1996), Kids Return (1996) and Romeo + Juliet (1996). “Is this the end for us?” “Don't be stupid. We haven't even started yet.” — Kids Return by Kitano Takeshi

BIFF Everywhere turns all of Busan into festival venues—a community-friendly festival now in its 5th year. Hoping citizens who can't easily reach theaters will complete their journey to cinema, we present 36 works (15 features, 20 shorts, 1 edited series) at 15 unique locations under the theme "Wind Path"—from Naval Operations Command to 168 The Deck, Jeonpo Cafe Street, Seoul and Yangsan. Carefully selected films like Zombie Daughter (2025), Time to Be Strong (2024), Wonka (2023), Heartsping: Teenieping of Love (2024), Hear Me: Our Summer (2024), Blue Giant (2023), First Summer (2025) come with performances and guest events.

Let's fuel our lives with this year's favorite films, share different memories freely with different people, discover connections to future generations and new cinema, and become friends who cheer each other on.