Busan's film festival drew more than 200,000 viewers for the first time in eleven years

What it is

부산국제영화제 (bu·san·guk·je·yeong·hwa·je), BIFF for short, is the big film festival of the Korean autumn and the largest in Asia. The 31st edition ran from Tuesday 6 October to Thursday 15 October 2026. The opening and closing ceremonies were held at 영화의전당 (yeong·hwa·ui·jeon·dang), the Busan Cinema Center in Haeundae, on the same timetable: doors at 5 pm, red carpet from 6 pm, the official programme at 7 pm and the opening or closing film from 8:20 pm.

Over ten days, 315 films screened in eight cinemas around the city. 246 were official invitations, and 94 of those were world premieres. The competition section, in only its second year, brought together 13 Asian films, with 장이머우 (Zhang Yimou) as jury president. The Busan Award grand prize went to Bread and Book, 빵과 책 in Korean, by the Iranian director Majid Majidi, about a teacher in a remote village who turns to oil smuggling when his school faces closure. The grand prize winner now qualifies to be submitted for the Academy Award for international feature film.

Why it took off

The organisers counted 200,043 film viewers, the first time past 200,000 since 2015. That figure adds 185,239 for invited films, 5,186 for Community BIFF and 9,618 for the neighbourhood screenings called 동네방네비프. With 76,984 people at talks and side events, the total came to 277,027, about 40,000 more than the 30th edition last year.

The festival credits two changes. It dropped its usual Wednesday opening and started on a Tuesday for the first time, and it raised daily screenings from four to five from Thursday to Sunday. The thinking was that people taking leave from work could stay in Busan from Tuesday through the weekend and see more.

The guest list helped. Michelle Yeoh took the Asian Filmmaker of the Year award, Ann Hui the Camellia Award for raising the standing of women in film, and 김동호, the festival's former chairman, the Korean Cinema Award. Alfonso Cuarón made his first official visit to Korea, and Maggie Gyllenhaal, Isabelle Huppert, Fan Bingbing and Zhou Xun walked the red carpet alongside 이창동, 나홍진, 전도연 and 조인성.

One film cast a shadow. 암살자(들), the thriller that had become a target of right wing groups, saw its lead actor's festival appearance and stage greetings cancelled over safety.

How to do it

Tickets go through ticket.biff.kr, and the festival posts a ticket catalogue as a PDF before the dates. For the ceremonies, the official guide asks you to be in your seat before the start, bans open drinks, alcohol and strong smelling food, stops photography during the film, and offers an AI translation service in several languages through your own phone and earphones.

Getting there on ceremony days takes planning. The roads around 영화의전당 are partly or fully closed from the late afternoon, there is no dedicated parking, and the festival tells visitors to use public transport or the paid car parks at BEXCO and nearby department stores.

The closing ceremony is where the Busan Award results are read out. This year the actor 임시완 hosted alone, and Majid Majidi, accepting the grand prize, said he hoped for a world without war and dedicated the honour to the people of Iran. It was his first visit to Korea, and he said he was surprised by how passionately young audiences watched films here.

Where, if you want it

영화의전당 (Busan Cinema Center) stands in Centum City, Haeundae district, Busan; Centum City station on Busan line 2 is the stop. BEXCO, also in Haeundae district, hosted the Asian Contents and Film Market with 129 booths, 339 companies from 32 countries and 30,484 visitors. Community BIFF used cinemas in the old downtown; 박해일 appeared at Megabox Busan Theatre in Jung district on 8 October for a talk on Waikiki Brothers with its director 임순례.