Bucheon film festival to mark 30th edition with focus on Asian, French and AI-influenced works

The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (Bifan) will open next month, featuring a record 321 films as the annual film fest marks its 30th edition, organizers said Tuesday.

Bifan will take place in venues across the Gyeonggi city from July 2 to 12, according to the organizers.

The film fest will showcase a record 321 features and shorts from 50 countries, including 93 films that will make their world premiere.

"We prepared a diverse lineup of works on the largest scale ever […] so that viewers can experience the intrinsic power of cinema and build a deep emotional connection," actress Chang Mi-hee, chairperson of the Bifan organizing committee, said in a press conference.

This year's Bifan will open with Yuen Woo-ping's "Blades of the Guardian," an action film starring martial arts icon Jet Li.

To mark its 30th anniversary, the film fest will launch a new section called "Asian Genre Films 99," a three-year project to map the landscape of Asian genre cinema.

A special section will be dedicated to French sci-fi films to mark both the film fest's 30th anniversary and the 140th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Korea and France this year.

Reflecting the emergence of AI, the film fest will feature more than 30 films incorporating the technology in both the international competition and noncompetition sections.

The film fest will also incorporate extended reality technology for the "Beyond Reality" section to provide a more immersive experience for visitors, organizers said.

Yonhap