2026 KAFA Graduation Film Festival Opens March 13

The Korean Academy of Film Arts (KAFA), operating under the Korean Film Council (KOFIC; Chair Han Sang-jun), will hold its 2026 KAFA Graduation Film Festival from Friday, March 13 through Sunday, March 15 at Megabox Sinchon in Seoul, followed by a screening on Saturday, March 21 at the KOFIC Headquarters Standard Screening Room in Busan. The festival will showcase 34 short and feature-length films, including animated works produced through KAFA's various educational programs.

Last year's festival drew significant international attention when the short film First Summer (Regular Program, Class 42, dir. Heo Ga-young) went on to win the top prize in the La Cinef section at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival — the first Korean film to receive the honor. This year's edition continues that tradition of spotlighting Korea's next generation of filmmakers.

Slogan: "What Are We to Each Other?"

The festival's theme reflects on the relationships formed between a film and its audience, a film and its theater, and a film and the wider world. In an era of rapid industry transformation, the festival aims to reaffirm the value of communal cinematic experience and to expand the spaces where films and audiences can meet.

Program Overview

The Regular and Practice Program section is organized around the festival's theme, comprising seven thematically grouped sections — including "A Dizzying In-Between," "A Dreaming In-Between," "An Unreachable In-Between," and "A Close-Yet-Distant In-Between" — featuring 18 live-action short films and 5 animated shorts. Among the highlights are On Romance (dir. Jeong Yu-won, prod. Lee Ji-won, DP Park Ye-hwi, sound Lee Je-hee), a short film inspired by beloved Korean singer Choi Baek-ho's classic song of the same name, and Halfway (dir. Jang Ji-ho, prod. Lee Ji-won / Jo Hyun-woo, sound Lee Je-hee), an animated short following a half-person — a being with a divided body — on a journey to find their missing other half.

The festival also presents five feature-length works from KAFA's Feature Film Program, each having earned notable recognition on the international festival circuit. Leading the selection is En Route To (Feature Film Program, Class 18, dir. Yoo Jae-in), winner of the New Currents Award and the Busan Award at the 30th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), and an official selection in the Generation 14plus Competition at the 76th Berlinale. Also screening is The Accordion Door (Feature Film Program, Class 18, dir. Son Gyeong-su), recipient of the Cine21 Award and Actor of the Year at the 30th BIFF, and The Flower (Feature Film Program, Class 15, dir. Kim Si-jin), an animated feature that has generated considerable buzz for its visual ambition and fresh storytelling.

A newly introduced Global Section, stemming from KAFA's Global Program (International Co-Production Workshop) established in 2025, will screen four short films co-created by filmmakers from South Korea, Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam. Among them is A Goat Cried Somewhere (dir. Jo Se-won, prod. Omar Muqim), a story centered on a young Syrian refugee boy. The section represents KAFA's expanding commitment to global creative education and cross-border collaboration.

Additionally, the Actors Section will screen two short films that highlight the synergy between performance and filmmaking, including the screwball comedy Etude.

KAFA and Korean Cinema's Future

Over more than four decades, KAFA's practice-based curriculum has produced some of the most prominent voices in contemporary Korean cinema, including Bong Joon-ho, Jang Joon-hwan, and Eom Tae-hwa. This year's Graduation Film Festival presents the work created through KAFA's programs over the past year, offering audiences a window into the creative forces shaping the future of Korean film.

The festival receives sole sponsorship from Plus M Entertainment and venue support from Megabox.