JUNG Sung-il

Jung Sung-il is a highly regarded Korean film critic and director. He launched the monthly film magazine Kino in 1995, serving as the editor-in-chief, and was a programmer at the Jeonju International Film Festival and visiting professor at the Korean Academy of Film Arts. He published two volumes of film criticism, Someday the World Will Become a Movie (2010) and Desperate Reading (2010). His debut film, Cafe Noir (2009), premiered at the 2009 Busan International Film Festival and 2009 Venice Film Festival, while his documentary, Night and Fog in Zona (2017), capturing the filming location of the Chinese filmmaker Wang Bing, screened at BIFF 2015 and the 2016 International Film Festival Rotterdam. Jung’s two documentaries on filmmaker Im Kwon-taek entitled Gravity of the Tea (2018) and Cloud, Encore (2018) premiered at BIFF 2018, catching the world’s attention.

Ava CAHEN

Ava Cahen was the co-founder and co-editor of the film magazine CLAP from 2014 to 2016, and has been co-piloting French Mania, a website dedicated to cinema and TV series, since 2017. She is a television columnist for "Le Cercle" on Canal+, and has published several books on cinema and series, such as Woody Allen: Profession cynique (2015), Cheforama (2017), and Game of Thrones Decode (2019). Alongside her teaching activity at the Paris Nanterre University from 2014 to 2020, Cahen joined the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics in 2016 and took part in the feature film committee of La Semaine de la Critique before taking over as head of the committee, where she is entering her third year as artistic director.

Edwin

Edwin is an Indonesian film director, producer, and screenwriter. Edwin first visited Busan with his short film A Very Slow Breakfast (2002) and returned the following year as a fellow of the first edition of the Asian Film Academy. With his feature film debut, Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly (2008), he was invited to the New Currents section of the 2008 Busan International Film Festival, and won several awards at renowned international festivals including the 2009 International Film Festival Rotterdam FIPRESCI Prize. Edwin's sophomore feature Postcards from the Zoo (2012) also competed at the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival, making him the first Indonesian filmmaker in 49 years to compete for the prestigious Golden Bear. In 2021, Edwin won the Golden Leopard at the 2021 Locarno Film Festival with Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash (2021).

Christina OH

Christina Oh is an Academy Award-nominated producer who has worked on a number of distinguished film and television projects over her career, including Bong Joon Ho’s Okja (2017) and Joe Talbot’s feature film debut The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019). Most recently she produced Minari (2020), written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung, which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and went on to receive 6 nominations at the 2021 Academy Awards, where actress Youn Yuh-jung won Korea's first-ever Best Supporting Actress award. Oh’s past television credits include LEGO Masters (2020-2021) and Paper Girls (2022). She is currently focusing on developing and producing a slate of film and TV projects, while continuing to champion and collaborate with talented artists across all fields.

HAN Junhee

Director Han Junhee gained recognition for his unique style in his debut feature, Coin Locker Girl (2014). The film was invited to the 2015 Cannes Film Festival’s La Semaine de la Critique and earned him the Best New Director award at the 2016 Baeksang Arts Awards. He continued to showcase his innovative approach in the crime action genre with Hit-and-Run Squad (2018). His subsequent works, D.P. (2021) and D.P. 2 (2023), both Netflix original series, solidified his stature as D.P. (2021) won the Best Drama at the Baeksang Arts Awards and Blue Dragon Series Awards in 2022. It also achieved the New York Times’ list of Top 10 Best International Shows of 2021. Recently, he worked as the creative director of Weak Hero Class 1 (2022), expanding the spectrum of his work.

Martine THÉROUANNE

Martine Thérouanne is the festival director and co-founder of the Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema (France) and she is a member of the NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) board. She has participated in many international film festivals as a jury member, such as the 2008 Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema, 2010 Busan International Film Festival, 2012 Hanoi International Film Festival, 2018 Pacific Meridian International Film Festival of Asian Pacific Countries, and 2022 Tashkent International Film Festival. Martine Thérouanne's dedication for culture, and particularly cinema, has been rewarded by several prestigious national and international titles such as the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in 2012, Korean Cinema Award in 2018, and Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2021.

NISHIKAWA Miwa

Nishikawa Miwa is a Japanese film director, born in Hiroshima Prefecture in 1974. While receiving a degree in literature from Waseda University, she worked on several independent films, as well as joined the crew of director Kore-eda Hirokazu’s After Life (1998) as an assistant. She debuted as a screenwriter and director with Wild Berries (2002), which won Best Screenplay at the 2004 Mainichi Film Awards. Following her debut, Nishikawa directed numerous projects including Sway (2006), Dear Doctor (2009), and The Long Excuse (2016). Her film Dreams for Sale (2012) was invited to the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. She received Best International Feature Audience Choice Award at the 2020 Chicago International Film Festival for Under the Open Sky (2020).

LEE Kwangkuk

Lee Kwangkuk garnered much attention and accolades with his feature film debut Romance Joe (2011), which won the 2011 Busan International Film Festival’s Citizen Critics' Award, 2012 Busan Film Critics Awards for Best Screenplay, and Best New Director at the 2012 Buil Film Awards. His subsequent feature films, A Matter of Interpretation (2014) and A Tiger in Winter (2017), have also gained recognition from critics and audiences around the world with invitations and awards from domestic and international film festivals, including the Busan International Film Festival and the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Lee’s fourth feature film, A Wing and a Prayer (2022), was invited to the 2022 Busan International Film Festival Jiseok section.

HARA Kazuo

Born in 1945 in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Hara Kazuo dropped out of Tokyo College of Photography and made his directorial debut with the documentary film, Goodbye CP (1972). Hara achieved international acclaim with Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974 (1974), which was praised as a pioneering self-documentary, and The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On (1987), which received the 1987 Berlin International Film Festival’s Caligari Film Award and the Grand Prix at the 1987 Cinéma du reel. Hara's other works include A Dedicated Life (1994), Many Faces of Chika (2004), Sennan Asbestos Disaster (2017), and more. His recent project, Minamata Mandala (2020), a three-part documentary with 372 minutes of running time and more than 15 years of filming, depicts the victims of the environmental disease, Minamata, as they fight for legal recognition and compensation.

Anke LEWEKE

Anke Leweke studied law in Bonn and Berlin and has worked as a film critic for Die Zeit and Die Tageszeitung since 1992, as well as Deutschlandfunk Kultur and other public broadcasters. In 2008, she received the Golden Prometheus award for Radio Journalist of the Year and was co-curator of the exhibition Berlin School at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2013. From 2002 to 2018, Leweke was a member of the selection committee for the Competition Programme and the Forum section of the Berlin International Film Festival. She has been a consultant for the Shanghai International Film Festival since 2012 and a consultant for the Hong Kong International Film Festival since 2014. She currently serves on the DOK Leipzig selection committee.

Kyungsoon

Kyungsoon won the Woonpa Award at the 1999 Busan International Film Festival with her debut film Mindullae (1999), which depicted the struggles of grieving parents, fighting to regain the honor of their late children who lost their lives during South Korea’s democratization movement. Such concerns became central in her works, as shown in Patriot Game (2001), What Do People Live For (2003), Shocking Family (2006), Red Maria (2011), and Red Maria 2 (2015), which satirizes Korean nationalism, and Patriot Game 2 - To Call a Deer a Horse (2019), which reflects the reality of Korean democracy following the dismissal of the Unified Progressive Party. Kyungsoon is currently in production for Shark - A Story of Growing Old, a 2022 Asian Cinema Fund’s Asian Network of Documentary (AND) Fund selection.

JANG Kun-jae

Jang Kun-jae has directed a number of feature films including Eighteen (2009), Sleepless Night (2012), A Midsummer's Fantasia (2014), Vestige (2020), and Juhee from 5 to 7 (2022), which have won awards at various prestigious film festivals around the world. In addition, he was the executive producer of director Shin Dong-min’s feature debut Mom’s Song (2020) and directed the TVING original series Monstrous (2022). Jang co-authored What Will Become of Cinema? Thoughts of 62 People Who Imagine the Future of Cinema (2021) and organized the Korean publication of Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s book Acting in Front of the Camera (2022). His recent work includes Because I Hate Korea (2023), the cinematic adaptation of author Chang Kang-myoung’s 2015 novel of the same name.

WEI Shujun

Wei Shujun is a scriptwriter and film director from Beijing. He attended the Busan International Film Festival in 2018 with his short film, On the Border (2018), an official selection in the Wide Angle section, which received the Special Jury Award at Cannes Film Festival. His feature films include Striding into the Wind (2020), which premiered at Cannes Film Festival, and Ripples of Life (2021), which premiered at Directors' Fortnight in Cannes, both of which were also invited to the Busan International Film Festival. Wei’s latest film, Only the River Flows (2023), premiered at Un Certain Regard, Cannes Film Festival in 2023, receiving much acclaim from the international cinematic community.

Bianca BALBUENA

Bianca Balbuena is the managing director of Kroma Entertainment’s Anima, which has produced Sundance awardee Leonor Will Never Die (2022) and Emmy-nominated The Missing 8 (2021). She co-founded Epicmedia, which has produced Berlinale Silver Bear, A Lullaby To The Sorrowful Mystery (2016), and Venice Lion of the Future, Engkwentro (2009). She is the recipient of the Asian Film Commissions Network’s Producer of the Year and the youngest winner of the FIAPF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Balbuena has served as a jury member at various film festivals including Sydney Film Festival and Fribourg International Film Festival. She is the European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs Ambassador for Asia and has mentored at the Locarno Film Festival Open Doors Lab, Talents Tokyo, and Berlinale Talents Short Form Station.

JUNG Woo

Jung Woo established his name through the film, Wish (2009), and won Best New Actor at the 2010 Grand Bell Awards. He continued to impress audiences with his realistic portrayal in the widely acclaimed drama series, Reply 1994 (2013). Jung Woo built up his filmography to become one of the most beloved actors in Korea, as he gave breathtaking performances in a variety of roles in films such as C’est Si Bon (2014), The Himalayas (2015), New Trial (2016), Best Friend (2020), Hot Blooded (2020), and many more.

HAN Yeri

Han Yeri has showcased a wide range of acting skills, from films like As One (2011), Worst Woman (2016), and The Table (2016) to drama series such as Hello, My Twenties! (2016), Nokdu Flower (2019), and My Unfamiliar Family (2020). She established herself on the global stage by winning the U.S. Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival with the critically acclaimed film, Minari (2020). Han furthered her career as a globally lauded actor by winning the 2021 Gold List Best Actress Award.

KANG Je-kyu

Director Kang Je-kyu debuted with The Ginko Bed (1996) and directed numerous milestone works in the Korean cinematic history, including Shiri (1999) and TaeGukGi: Brotherhood Of War (2004). And his latest film is Road to Boston (2023).

SHIM Jaemyung

CEO of Myung Films, Shim Jaemyung has participated in the production of various Korean films, such as The Contact (1997), Joint Security Area /JSA (2000), Forever The Moment (2007), Leafie, a Hen Into The Wild (2011) and Architecture 101 (2012).

YOO Ji-tae

Actor Yoo Ji-tae has built a solid career throughout the years through participation in various projects from movies, such as One Fine Spring Day (2001), Old Boy (2003), Midnight F.M. (2010), and SVAHA : THE SIXTH FINGER (2018), to the drama series, Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area (2022).

JUNG Hanseok

Programmer Jung Hanseok of Busan International Film Festival has been recognized for his discernment in discovering Korean independent films and newly emerging directors.

Gulbara TOLOMUSHOVA

Born in Kyrgyzstan, Gulbara Tolomushova is a member of FIPRESCI who graduated from the Film Art Department of VGIK, Moscow. She is an expert of Bishkek Aitmatov House of Cinema at the Cinematography Department of the Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic. She has been the program director of the CIS Young Cinema Forum ‘Umut’, editor and author of the website of the Cinema Development Fund - kyrgyzcinema.com, author of the journal Forum (edition of IFESCCO, Moscow), author of scientific works, published in the Kyrgyz Republic and abroad, and author of the online film magazine Kinokultura.com. She is a jury member at many international film festivals, was invited to Berlin International Film Festival in 2020, and took part at the Film Market of the Cannes IFF in 2021.

Sebastian LINDVALL

Sebastian Lindvall is a film critic and curator based in Stockholm, Sweden. After graduating in cinema studies at Stockholm University, where he wrote his bachelor's thesis on Satoshi Kon and master's thesis on Mamoru Oshii, he became a copywriter and production coordinator for a film distribution company. With a strong passion for writing about cinema, he then moved on to the Stockholm International Film Festival and stayed there on and off for several years – his last festival as editor-in-chief. Nowadays, he works at the Cinematheque – where he has curated retrospectives on Kim Ki-young, Toshiro Mifune and Tsai Ming-liang, among others – and as a freelance film critic for Scandinavia’s largest morning daily, Dagens Nyheter. He has been a member of the Swedish Film Critics Association since 2019.

KIM Hyeshin

Kim Hyeshin is a critic for film and culture, as well as an art educator. She majored in French literature (Baudelaire, Rimbaud) and film studies at the University of Sorbonne Nouvelle, where she obtained her doctorate with a dissertation on "The Cinematographic Poeticity." In 2008, she became a member of FIPRESCI Korea and eventually served as a secretary general of the organization. Kim has also held various roles, including serving on the evaluation committee for international film festivals at the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute, being a member of the Chungnam Film Commission, working as an invited professor in the Department of Film and TV at Jeonju University, and serving as an adjunct professor in the Department of Theater and Film at Hanyang University. She has contributed articles to publications such as PAF: the performing arts & film review, Cooltura, and Maeil Business Newspaper. Additionally, she has been an active panelist on BBS's 'Cine Journal' (a program of ‘Morning Journal’) and served as a judge for the 'Book to Film' category at the Busan International Film Festival from 2013 to 2016.

Mark SCHILLING

Mark Schilling has been reviewing Japanese films for “The Japan Times” since 1989 and reporting on the Japanese film industry since 1990, presently for Variety. Since 2000 Schilling has also been a program advisor for the Udine Far East Film Festival, curating retrospectives on Nikkatsu Action films (2005), the Shintoho studio (2010) and Japanese SF/fantasy films (2016). Book publications include The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture (1997), The Yakuza Movie Book - A Guide to Japanese Gangster Films (2003), No Borders, No Limits: Nikkatsu Action Cinema (2007) and Art, Cult and Commerce: Japanese Cinema Since 2000. He also wrote the original story for and produced Convenience Story, a film directed by Miki Satoshi that opened in Japan in August, 2022.

SONG Eunji

Song Eunji majored in film writing. Since 2012, she has been the program manager at the Jeongdongjin Independent Film Festival, and involved in programming for the Gangneung Independent Art Theater, named Shinyoung. In 2018, she was pointed as the office manager for the Jeongdongjin Independent Film Festival, now holding the position of deputy director. She also currently works as a programmer for the Gangneung Independent Art Theater and serves as the secretary general for Gangneung Cinematheque.

TERUOKA Sozo

TERUOKA Sozo is currently the programming director of the Osaka Asian Film Festival. He is a distinguished film critic specialising in Asian cinema. He was the programming director (for Asian cinema) of the Tokyo International Film Festival, and served as a member of the jury at the Hong Kong International Film Festival, the Taipei Film Awards,the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan, the Jakarta International Film Festival, the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, Cinema One Originals Film Festival in the Philippines, and the Asian Film Awards. As a film critic, he writes for Kinema Jumpo, a leading Japanese film magazine and Asahi Shimbun.

CHANG Yeongyeop

Chang Yeongyeop is the CEO of cine 21, one of Korea’s most respected film journals. She has served as a juror at the Jeonju International Film Festival, the Seoul International Women’s Film Festival, the Jecheon International Music & Film Festival, and the Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards. She is the co-author Cineastes Described by Cineastes and What Will a Movie Become?.

HONG Eunmi

Hong Eunmi worked as a programmer for Independent Film Festival Busan and editor for Indie Critique, a film critic magazine for independent films in Busan. She won Cine 21’s Film Critic Award in 2018. Currently reviewing and writing for films, she is working as a member of Busan Independent Film Association and Busan Film Critics Association.

PARK Inje

Park Inje graduated from the Dept. of French Language and Literature at Korea University and the School of Film at the Korea National University of Arts. His short film The End of Road (2003) won the Best Film Award at the Mise-en-scene Short Film Festival. After that, he wrote and directed his features Moby Dick (2011) and The Mayor (2017). He also directed Netflix series Kingdom Season 2 (2019) and Disney+ series Moving (2023).

PARK Yongjib

Starting as the youngest staff member of the directing team, Park made his directorial debut with Miss Gold Digger (2007) and has since directed several feature films including his most recent release Love, Again (2019). The director also has adapted numerous films and dramas and has directed special dramas for Day of People with Disability. He aspires to continue his steady and diverse creative work in the future.

Inan

Inan began his filmmaking journey in 1997 with the short film Swing Diary (1996). He went on to direct experimental short films such as 7AM, SLOWLY;opposite page (2002), Rare Dream (2003), and ordinary 2nd day. After working as a photographer and music video director, Son directed his first feature, Ordinary Days (2010) in 2010. After making short film metonymy (2011), He directed the feature Bitch Heart Asshole (2015) in 2015, Teuri (2019) in 2019, and the short Now Here (2021) in 2021.

LEE Sooyoun

Lee Sooyoun’s graduation work at the Korean Academy of Film Arts, La (1998), was invited to the Wide Angle section at the 1998 Busan International Film Festival. Her graduate work at Chung-Ang University, The Goggles (2000), won Best Picture at the 2000 Seoul Independent Film Festival (formerly known as the Korean Independent Short Film Festival) and the 2000 Busan International Short Film Festival (formerly known as the Busan Asian Short Film Festival). With her debut feature, The Uninvited (2003), the director won the Baeksang Arts Awards for Best New Director and the Citizen Kane Award at the Sitges - International Fantastic Film Festival. Her film E.D. 571 from the omnibus feature Modern Family (2012) released in 2012 won the Movie Collage Award at the Cinema Digital Seoul Film Festival and received Special Mention at the Florence Korea Film Festival. Her second feature, Bluebeard (2017), was invited to the Korean Cinema Today - Panorama section at the Busan International Film Festival.

KIM Chohee

Kim Chohee began her career directing a number of short films, beginning with The Winter Pianist (2011). In 2019, she directed her first feature film, Lucky Chan-Sil (2019), which won the KBS Independent Film Award, DGK Award, and CGV Arthouse Award at the Busan International Film Festival and was released the following year. In 2022, she directed a short film Back to the Hong Kong (2022) for TVING's original OTT show All Viewers+: Short Buster.

LEE Jinsook

Lee Jinsook began her filmmaking career in 2000 with the production of the movie Die Bad (2000). In 2002, she founded Angel Underground and produced the independent films Popee (2002) and Bewitching Attraction (2005). She served as the executive producer of the human rights film projects If You Were Me (2002), If You Were Me (Anima Version) (2005), and 1318 If You Were Me 4 (2008). In 2015, she founded a film production company Harbin to plan and co-produce The Age of Shadows (2016) with Warner Bros.

JU Sungchul

Ju Sungchul is the editor-in-chief of Cineplay, the official movie content partner of Naver. Since 2000, he has worked as a film journalist for the movie magazines Kino and Film 2.0 and served as the editor-in-chief of Cine21. He has appeared on JTBC's movie program Movieroom and YouTube's Moviegunjo, and his books include Leslie Cheung, Whom We Loved In Those Days, Separated People Meet Again in Hong Kong, and Looking at The Back of Cinema.

LEE Seon-yeong

Lee Seon-yeong participated as a D.P. in nu-merous independent productions including Jesus Hospital (2011), which won the Grand Prize at the 7th Seoul Independent Film Festival, documentaries Bittersweet Joke (2011) and MANSHIN: Ten Thousand Spirits (2013), and a narrative feature The Liar (2014). She also joined various commercial productions such as Horror Stories I (2012), Marriage Blue (2013), Casa Amor; Exclusive for Ladies (2014), The Chosen: Forbidden Cave (2015), Horror Stories III (2012), and On the Line (2021), the latest film by Kim Seon and Kim Gok.

YUN Ji-un

Yun Ji-un specialized in cinematography at the 19th Korean Academy of Film Arts and made his debut as a cinematographer with the feature film, No Regret (2006). He shot the feature film, Pluto (2012), which was selected for the Busan International Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival, and received the Festival Jury Award at the 2013 Florence Korea Film Festival. He worked as the cinematographer for the feature film, Madonna (2014), which was a candidate for the Cannes Film Festival's Un Certain Regard and received the Halekulani Golden Orchid Award at the 2015 Hawai’i International Film Festival. He was also the cinematographer for the feature film Glass Garden (2017), which was the opening film at the 2017 Busan International Film Festival and received the Best Screenplay Award at the 2018 Fantasporto International Film Festival. Since then, he has been active as the cinematographer for more than 20 films, including the feature film Hommage (2021).

LEE Doo-man

Lee Doo-man graduated from Hanyang University of Theater and Film where he studied directing, and he studied Cinematography at Australian Film Television and Radio School. He participated in many independent films and won awards at international film festivals. From 2000, he has expanded his work as a cinematographer for commercial films. He made his debut as a cinematographer and technical director of the first Korean full digital feature film Tear (2000). Since then, he has been working as a cinematographer across independent and commercial films. Representative films include May 18 (2007) which won best cinematography in 2007 Korean Association of Film Critics’ Awards and My Wedding Campaign (2005) which was selected as the closing film of 2005 Busan International Film Festival.

MOON Hyungseok

Moon Hyungseok debuted as a film critic at a film review contest in 2020 and has contributed to various media such as Critic B, a magazine published by the Busan Film Critics Association, and Indie Critic, a critical anthology of the Busan Independent Film Association.

KIM Pilnam

Kim Pilnam began writing about movies in 2007 when she debuted at the New Film Critic Contest hosted by the Busan Daily Newspaper, and is currently a member of the Busan Film Critics Association. She serves as an editorial board member of Critic B and editor-in-chief of Indie Critic, both published in Busan.

GOO Hyeongjun

Goo Hyeongjun is a film critic and the editor-in-chief of the OTT criticism magazine BeOTT. He won the Excellence Award at the 2016 Busan Film Critics Association Criticism Competition. He has served as a jury member for the Busan Critics Award at the Independent Film Festival Busan and the Busan Film Critics Association Award, and writes about cinema for various publications such as Critic B, Indie Critic, and Film Magazine anno.