The Iranian drama is the first film to win the top prize under a rule granting direct Academy entry, in Busan’s first edition as an FIAPF A-list festival

Actor Yim Si-wan hosts the closing ceremony of the 31st Busan International Film Festival. <Yonhap News Agency>

The 31st Busan International Film Festival closed on Oct. 15, ending a 10-day run. The Busan Award for Best Film, the top prize in the Competition section, went to Midday Meal by Iranian director Majid Majidi. The system granting the Best Film winner eligibility to submit for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film took effect this year for the first time, and Midday Meal is its first case.

This year’s edition was the first held since the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) overhauled its accreditation system. FIAPF consolidated its four-way classification — competitive, non-competitive and others — into a single category, and Busan was named among the 17 festivals designated A-list, alongside Cannes, Berlin and Venice. Busan was the first Korean festival to receive FIAPF accreditation, in 1997. The Competition section was introduced at the 30th edition last year and ran for a second time this year. Director Zhang Yimou served as jury president.

Three Korean Titles Among 13 Competition Films, Kim Jong-kwan’s ‘The Table: Day and Night’ Opens the Festival

Thirteen Asian films screened in Competition, and winners were announced across five awards. The Korean entries were Youm Kyubock’s animated feature Long Long Night, Kim Jung-hoon’s Shaving and Lim Hayeon’s Beach Fictions. Taiwanese director Lee Yun Chan won Best Director for To Be Ordinary. The acting award went to two performers: Chinese actor Zhou Xun for The First Taste of Loneliness and Japanese actor Kashun Himeno for Satoko Always.

The seven-member jury included Korean director July Jung and actor Moon Choi (Choi Hee-seo). Jury President Zhang Yimou said Midday Meal was chosen unanimously. The film follows a teacher trying to protect his pupils’ meals and lessons at a rural school, and had its world premiere at the festival. To confirm an Academy submission, however, the film must meet requirements including a theatrical run in its home market, and it is submitted through a route separate from each country’s official national selection.

The festival opened on Oct. 6 with Kim Jong-kwan’s The Table: Day and Night, an omnibus film that threads conversations between four couples in a single café across the turning of the seasons, starring Kim Min-ha, Joo Jong-hyuk, Han Sun-hwa and Shim Eun-kyung. At a news conference on opening day, Kim described it as a story about small and ordinary things.

Korean Directors and Films Cited by Michelle Yeoh and Fan Bingbing in Busan

Actor Michelle Yeoh received the Asian Filmmaker of the Year award at the opening ceremony and said at an Oct. 7 news conference that she would like to work with directors Lee Chang-dong, Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho. Chinese actor Fan Bingbing, who spoke at a news conference the same day, referred to Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Love, which she saw at the Toronto International Film Festival, and said she envied the way the actors seemed to swim freely through the film. Possible Love won the Grand Jury Prize in Competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival this year.

Sources

• Busan Metropolitan City, “[BIFF Press Release] BIFF Officially Recognized as an FIAPF A Festival,” 2026.04.13

• Kookmin Ilbo, “Shoulder to Shoulder With Cannes and Berlin: Busan International Film Festival Opens With Raised Standing,” 2026.10.07

• Kookmin Ilbo, “Opening Film ‘The Table: Day and Night’: Kim Jong-kwan’s Style at Full Maturity,” 2026.10.07

• Kookmin Ilbo, “Michelle Yeoh and Fan Bingbing in Busan: ‘Beyond Asia, to the World,’ ‘I Envy Korean Films,’” 2026.10.07

• SBS, “‘A Film Like a Gift’: ‘The Table: Day and Night’ Screens as Busan International Film Festival Opener,” 2026.10.07

• Yonhap News Agency, “Fan Bingbing: ‘Shocked by the Acting in Possible Love… AI Cannot Replace Actors,’” 2026.10.07

• Yonhap News Agency, “Maggie Gyllenhaal on Her Monroe Film ‘Flesh Impact’: ‘Films About Women Are Written in a New Language,’” 2026.10.07

• The Korea Times, “Actor Michelle Yeoh Sees Endless Possibilities After Receiving BIFF Award,” 2026.10.07

• Kyunghyang Shinmun, “Busan International Film Festival Closes; Busan Award Best Film Goes to Iran’s ‘Midday Meal,’” 2026.10.15

• The Film Verdict, “Busan 2026: The Awards,” 2026.10.15

• Herald Business, “Busan International Film Festival Closes; Top Prize to Iranian Master’s ‘Midday Meal,’” 2026.10.16