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The 20th edition of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) wound to a close this past Saturday (October 10th), announcing its signature awards during a closing ceremony that was followed by the world premiere of Chinese film Mountain Cry, this year’s closing film.

 

Picking up the top prizes in BIFF’s main competition, the New Currents selection which highlights debut and sophomore works from the Asian continent, were Hadi MOHAGHEGH’s Immortal from Iran and Yerlan NURMUKHAMBETOV’s Walnut Tree from Kazakhstan, chosen among ten competitors. The prizes were handed out by a jury which was led by Taiwanese actress and filmmaker Sylvia CHANG. Despite the rain which dampened the proceedings, Kurdish singer Helly LUV stormed the stage to perform the song ‘Revolution’, which appeared in the Iranian film A Flag without a Country.

 

Especially, this year’s BIFF set a new benchmark for attendance, as a record 227,000 admissions were recorded this October, bolstered in part by the appearance of many A-list celebrities, such as HOU Hsiao Hsien, Leos Carax, Tilda Swinton, TANG Wei, Harvey Keitel, YOO Ah-in and many more.

 

In other awards, the documentaries Boys Run by KANG Seok-pil from Korea and China’s Look Love by YE Yun were awarded the Mecenat Prize, while the Sonje Awards for Best Short were handed to LEE Eun-jeong’s Shame Diary from Korea and Taiwan work Nia’s Door by LAU Kek Huat.

 

Established just last year, the Actor & Actress of the Year Awards, considering performances in the Korean Cinema Today - Vision section, were brought home by LEE Ju-won of ALONE and Sun JANG of Communication & Lies, which also competed in the New Currents lineup.