The 31st Busan International Film Festival has set the lineup and schedule for three of its audience-facing programs, with Hyun Bin, Lee Min-ho, Jung Woo-sung and Isabelle Huppert among the names confirmed for appearances across Open Talk, Outdoor Stage Greeting and Talk-to-Talk.
The sessions will take place at the Busan Cinema Center Roof Theater and the HANMAC Smooooth Lounge, giving festivalgoers access to directors and cast members tied to Korean and international selections. BIFF’s newly announced schedule runs across much of the festival window, which is set for Oct. 6-15 at the Busan Cinema Center and venues throughout Busan.
Open Talk Sets Isabelle Huppert and Major Korean Talent
Open Talk begins Oct. 7 with a full day of Korean titles. Director Lee Chang-dong will appear with Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong for “Possible Love.” The same day, “Cattle Run” will bring director Kim Ji-hyun together with Ryu Seung-ryong, Park Hae-jun, Ong Seong-wu and Lee Sang-hee, while “The Table: Day and Night” will feature director Kim Jong-kwan with Kim Min-ha, Joo Jong-hyuk, Han Sun-hwa, Shim Eun-kyung, Jeon So-young and Kim Dong-hwi.
The Oct. 8 Open Talk lineup includes “Sapiens,” with director Lee Hu-bin, Jung Sung-il, You Chea-myung and Ryu Hyunkyung, as well as “Dead-End Job,” pairing director Kim Da-min with Kim Min-ha and Choi Hyun-wook.
On Oct. 9, the program continues with “The Blue Road,” featuring director Han Jun-hee alongside Son Sukku, Nagayama Eita and Kim Shin-rok. Also scheduled that day are “Ugly Duckling Ms. Maeng,” with director Lee Yong-jae and actors Lee Sun-bin, You Chea-myung, Jun Suk-ho and Kim Young-min, and “The Sorry Generation,” with director Kim Sung-yoon and actors Jung Jae-young, Kim Joo-ryoung, Lee Yi-kyung and Kim Ah-young.
A “BIFF Discoveries: Rising New Talents” session on Oct. 10 will feature Jeon So-young and Kim Dong-hwi from “The Table: Day and Night,” alongside Sim Su-bin, who appears in both “The Birds” and “The World Before.” Open Talk closes Oct. 13 with Isabelle Huppert and director Marc Fitoussi discussing “All About Corinne.”
Outdoor Stage Greeting Brings Hyun Bin, Jung Woo-sung and Lee Min-ho
Outdoor Stage Greeting will run Oct. 7-11 and covers a broad slate of titles. The Oct. 7 schedule includes director Stephanie Ahn with Moon Choi and Son Sukku for “Bedford Park”; director Fujii Michihito and actor Yokohama Ryusei for “You, Like a Star”; and director Sato Sakichi with Sawajiri Erika and Maruyama Ryuhei for “The Chain of Roses.”
That same day, director Hur Jin-ho will appear with Yoo Hai-jin, Park Hae-il and Lee Min-ho for “The Assassin(s).” Director Woo Min-ho is also set with Hyun Bin, Jung Woo-sung and Woo Do-hwan for “Made In Korea” Season 2. Other Oct. 7 appearances include director Feng-I Fiona Roan with Shuhua Yeh, Xuan Chen and Kent Tsai for “Happily Ever After,” and director Kore-eda Hirokazu with Deguchi Natsuki, Makita Aju, Nanase Furi and Okada Rokka for “Look Back.”
On Oct. 8, the stage greeting lineup includes “Dora,” with director July Jung, Kim Doyeon and Choi Wonyoung; “Final Interview,” with director Kim Joung-hoon, Kim Jae-won, Cho Yi-hyun, Kang You-seok and Bae Gang-hee; and a second “BIFF Discoveries” session featuring Kim Doyeon from “Dora.” The day also features “Sinner,” “Still Shining,” “Four Seasons in Java,” “In the Clear Moonlit Dusk” and “zi.,” with directors, producers and actors attached to those titles scheduled to attend.
The Oct. 9 Outdoor Stage Greeting schedule features director Yeon Sang-ho with Kim Hyun-joo for “Paradise Lost,” director Wang I-fan with Fukushi Sota and Han Ning for “The Scar-Faced Cat: Way of Asura,” and director Yoon Dan-bi with Sim Su-bin and Kim Eo-jin for “The World Before.” On Oct. 10, actors Shin Mina, Ju Jihoon, Lee Jongsuk and Lee Seyoung are set for “The Remarried Empress,” while Kwon Haehyo and Park Miso will appear for “Nowhere to Lay My Eyes.”
The section concludes Oct. 11 with “Italy’s Fearsome New Directors,” pairing talent from “Föa – Once Upon a Future” and “Deep Blue”; “Inherit,” with director Banjong Pisanthanakun and actors Davika Hoorne and Thitiya Jirapornsilp; and a joint stage greeting for Flash Forward section directors Rhys Marc Jones, Jannis Lenz, Fernanda Tovar, Jacqueline Lentzou, Emmanuel Marre, Manuel Wetscher, Margherita Ferrari, Grzegorz Dębowski and Manuela Martelli.
Talk-to-Talk Splits Between Two Venues
Talk-to-Talk will be held at both the Roof Theater and the HANMAC Smooooth Lounge. At the Roof Theater on Oct. 10, “Women Directors: Taking the Scene” will gather Margherita Ferrari, Marjan Khosravi, May El-Youkhy, Michelle Zhou, Zainab Entezar, Jacqueline Lentzou and Julie Lecoustre.
At the HANMAC Smooooth Lounge, Majid Majidi will discuss his career from “Children of Heaven” to “Midday Meal” on Oct. 9. Four “Vision Korea” panels will follow on Oct. 10 and Oct. 11, connecting directors and actors from “Things I Left at the Theater,” “Not for You,” “The Flower,” “Earbug,” “Some Detective,” “Nothing Has Happened Yet,” “The Birds,” “Space,” “Cosmic Trace,” “Baler,” “Beyond Love’s Horizon” and “Full Moon.”
The Talk-to-Talk program also includes “Asian Cinema Through Global Eyes,” bringing together Martine Therouanne of the Vesoul International Festival of Asian Cinema, Sabrina Baracetti of the Udine Far East Film Festival, Jeon Hyejung of the London East Asia Film Festival, Samuel Jamier of the New York Asian Film Festival and Teruoka Sozo of the Osaka Asian Film Festival.
Directors Marco Nguyen and Nicolas Athané are set to appear for “The Hottest Virus of the Year, ‘Jim Queen,’” while the program closes Oct. 13 with Kim Ah-young and Kim Seulki discussing their move from “SNL Korea” to film. The 21st Asian Contents & Film Market will also be held during the festival, running Oct. 10-13.