The 30th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), held from September 17 to 26, 2025, marked a major milestone for Asian cinema. Celebrating its 30th edition at the Busan Cinema Center, the festival introduced its first formally competitive section — the Busan Award — signaling Busan’s evolution from a showcase to a fully-fledged contest steeped in prestige and expectation.

This year’s program emphasized both regional power and international diversity. More than 240 films from over 60 countries screened in Busan, combining global auteurs, emerging Asian voices, documentaries, experimental works, and shorts. While Korean cinema retained a strong presence, BIFF 2025 also elevated stories from China, Taiwan, Japan, Iran, and beyond. The mood: bold, restless, and increasingly global.

Key Awards & Highlights from Busan 2025

• Busan Award – Best Film: Gloaming in Luomu by Zhang Lu (China)
• Busan Award – Best Director: Girl by Shu Qi (Taiwan) — in her directorial debut
• Busan Award – Special Jury Prize: Funky Freaky Freaks by Han Chang-lok (South Korea)
• Busan Award – Best Actor: Lee Jiwon for En Route To (South Korea); also shared by Kitamura Takumi, Ayano Go, Hayashi Yuta for Baka’s Identity (Japan)
• Artistic Contribution Award: Liu Qiang & Tu Nan for production design on Resurrection (China)
• New Currents Award: En Route To, by Yoo Jaein (South Korea)
• BIFF Mecenat Award (Documentaries): Raining Dust (Ju Romi & Kim Taeil, South Korea), Singing Wings (Hemen Khaledi, Iran/Kurdistan), Relay Race (Ko Hyoju, South Korea)
• Sonje Award (Asian Short Films): It Sounds Louder on Rainy Days (Kim Sang-yun, South Korea), Delay (Wang Han-xuan, China), Interface (Kawazoe Aya, Japan)

What Made Busan 2025 Special

• First-ever Competitive Section (“Busan Award”): Introducing this formal competition signals Busan stepping up its international stature. No longer just a forum, it’s now a platform where voices compete and where juries deliberate with weight.
• Strong Debuts and Mixed Auteurs: Shu Qi’s Girl as a debut director winning Best Director; Zhang Lu returning with Gloaming in Luomu, the Best Film — balancing new talents and long-standing careers.
• Documentary and Short Films with Vision: The Mecenat and Sonje Awards show BIFF’s commitment to non-fiction and short form works, giving them space alongside feature narratives.
• Production & Design Recognition: With Resurrection honored for design, BIFF 2025 also highlighted the artistry behind visuals — reminding that production design isn’t just background, it shapes mood, tone, identity.

Reflections and Implications

Busan 2025 demonstrated that Asian film festivals are no longer peripheral to global film culture; they increasingly set the pace. By launching the Busan Award, the festival declared its ambition to rival older international competitions. Audiences responded: attendance rose, anticipation around screenings was high, and critical reception suggests the winners will travel far.

Moreover, the festival showed how local stories (Korea) and regional ones (China, Taiwan, Japan, Iran) can both coexist and compete on the same stage — often challenging Western-centric narratives about what “world cinema” should look like.

Busan 2025 ends not just as celebration, but as a turning point. With its new competitive framework, diversity of selections, and bold choices in awards, it reaffirms Asia — and Busan especially — as one of the most exciting places for cinema today.

You can find more information at the festival’s official website: https://www.biff.kr/eng/