Community BIFF unveils its program line-up for 30th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF).

Community BIFF, the festival shaped together with audiences, presents a special lineup celebrating BIFF’s 30th anniversary. Now in its 8th year, it continues to engage closely with Busan citizens and cinephiles through fresh and inventive programs. Ticket sales for Community BIFF screenings open on September 5 (Fri) at 14:00 KST, alongside ticketing for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

This year, Community BIFF will present a special program marking the 30th anniversary of the K-Arts School of Film, TV & Multimedia. 30 alumni directors, faculty, and students, including Kim Do-yeong, Yoon Ga-eun, Lee Kyeongmi, Lee Jong-pil, Im Sunae, and Jeong Jae-eun, will unveil Project 30, a world premiere omnibus film produced with CJ ENM to celebrate the occasion. The program also features screenings of works that have defined three decades of K-Arts’ cinematic legacy.

The Community BIFF Collection returns as an interconnected program featuring artists who broaden cultural horizons and set new trends with their achievements across new media, K-pop, and beyond. This year, the theme “Books” debuts with Community BIFF Books, presenting cinematic encounters with writers from diverse fields. Guests include Chung Seokyung, screenwriter of The Handmaiden; essayist Lee Seokwon (Ordinary Existence); novelist Park Sangyoung, who expanded his career into dramas with Love in the Big City; actor-writer Kim Shin-rock, author of the interview book, Actor to Actor; and chef-writer Park Chanil. The program also features screenings and showcases, including the music video of the alternative K-pop group Balming Tiger, which bridges music and visual arts; Interstella 5555, a space odyssey created by the French electronic duo Daft Punk in collaboration with Japanese manga master Matsumoto Leiji; and a conversation with the pioneering electronic band IDIOTAPE.

In an audience-participatory program, ‘Request Cinema’, audiences take on the role of programmers to select and curate the retrospective screenings of the past festival films in celebration of the 30th edition of BIFF. From 180 nominations, 5,268 votes determined a line-up of 13 titles. Beloved works such as Iwai Shunji’s All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001) and Kore-eda Hirokazu’s Our Little Sister (2015), will return to meet audiences online. To mark the 20th anniversary of The Duelist (2005), Gang Dong-won and Ha Ji-won will attend, while Kim Namgil and Kim Jung-hyun will join audiences to celebrate the 10th anniversaries of The Shameless (2015) and Overman (2015), sharing memories of the films that once lit up BIFF screens.

Director Jung Sung-il and novelist Sung Haena (Honmono) will take part in ‘The Cinephiles Strike Back’, where their selected films will be screened without prior disclosure. In ‘Master Talk’, director Jang Jae-hyun and actor Park Jung-min will revisit their film Svaha: The Sixth Finger with live audience interaction. Other highlights include Community BIFF Road, retrospective screenings of classic titles from BIFF’s inaugural year in 1996, and ‘Happy-Go-Lucky Night’, a late-night program where audiences can freely eat, drink, and enjoy films together. More information is available on Community BIFF’s official website (community.biff.kr).

Meanwhile, BIFF runs from September 17 (Wed) to 26 (Fri) at Busan Cinema Center; Community BIFF runs from September 18 (Thurs) to 21 (Sun) at Nampo-dong, Jung-gu; and BIFF Everywhere runs from September 18 (Thurs) to 25 (Thurs) across the city of Busan to meet audiences.

■ The 30th Busan International Film Festival: Sep 17 (Wed) – Sep 26 (Fri)

■ The 20th Asian Contents & Film Market: Sep 20 (Sat) – Sep 23 (Tue)