Song Kang-ho, Fan Bingbing, John Cho… ‘Stars’ pour down

The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), Asia’s largest film festival, opened on the 4th and began its 10-day journey. Although it was on the verge of collapse due to noise and bad news that arose during the preparation process, it overcame concerns and set sail with the support of domestic and foreign stars and a spectacular lineup. The opening ceremony was held at the outdoor screening hall of the Haeundae Film Center in Busan at 6 p.m. on this day, with actor Park Eun-bin as the sole host, and actor Song Kang-ho stepped down as executive chairman and served as the host of this film festival, which was vacant, and welcomed invited actors and directors.

●Opening despite adverse circumstances… ‘BIFF led by Song Kang-ho’

The beginning of the festival was smoothly conducted by Park Eun-bin, who was the first solo host of the opening ceremony and the first female solo host, with her calm and elegant speaking skills. Lee Je-hoon, who was originally supposed to co-host, underwent emergency surgery for ischemic colitis in the early morning of the 4th, so Park Eun-bin took on the role of host alone.

The opening film is ‘Because I Hate Korea’ directed by Jang Geon-jae. The film, based on the novel of the same name by author Jang Kang-myeong, tells the story of Gye-na, a woman in her 20s who leaves for New Zealand to find happiness. Lead actor Go Ah-seong also missed the opening ceremony due to a recent 12-week anterior fracture due to a sacral fracture.

Prior to the absence of major guests such as Lee Je-hoon and Go Ah-seong, the film festival suffered from negative news due to personnel issues related to the steering committee chairman and the resignation of former executive chairman Huh Moon-young due to allegations of sexual violence. Taking responsibility for the ‘crisis crisis’ situation, the chairman, executive chairman, and steering committee chairman resigned at the same time, and chief programmer Nam Dong-cheol took on the role of acting executive chairman and led the film festival.

Actor Song Kang-ho acted as a ‘saving pitcher’ by carrying out internal and external tasks related to the film festival. At the opening ceremony, he personally welcomed domestic and foreign guests as a host. He said, “The film festival, which has grown into a world-class film festival over the past 28 years, was held under an emergency system, and I hoped that I could be of some help. “I am happy to be able to greet you on behalf of the film festival as a host,” he said.

●‘Stars’ pouring down in Busan

Although it suffered severe ‘internal conflict’ due to a series of noises, the keen interest and support for the film festival was proven by the domestic and foreign stars who decorated the opening ceremony. Stars including Song Joong-ki, Han Hyo-joo, Yoo Ji-tae, Cho Jin-woong, Han Yeri, Yoo Seung-ho, Lee Yu-young, Lee Jun-hyuk, Park Sung-woong, Yoo Tae-oh, Lee Som, Ahn Jae-hong, Fan Bingbing, John Cho, and Suzu Hirose walked the red carpet and received warm cheers from about 3,000 spectators.

The ‘special star’ that attracted the most attention was Zhou Lun-fa (Chow Yun-fat). Following Liang Chao-wei (Lee Cao Wei) last year, he received the Asian Film Artist Award given by the Busan International Film Festival to a filmmaker who contributed to the development of Asian films at the opening ceremony. His representative works ‘A Hero’s True Colors’ and ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ and his new film ‘One More Chance’ will be screened specially during the festival, and he will also meet fans directly through open talks and GVs (conversations with the audience).

In addition, the film festival is filled with the works of domestic and foreign masters and a stage to meet leading actors. Director Ryusuke Hamaguchi screened his new work ‘Evil Doesn’t Exist’ and talked with the audience through ‘Special Talk’, and director Lee Chang-dong watched his masterpiece ‘Poetry’ with the audience and then had a chance to reminisce about the late Yoon Jeong-hee, the main character. Is expected.

Starting with Hollywood star John Cho on the 5th, Song Joong-ki and Yoon Yeo-jung on the 6th, and Han Hyo-joo on the 7th will each host ‘Actor’s House’ at the KNN Theater in KNN Tower, Haeundae-gu, where they will tell honest stories about acting. This film festival, which runs until the 13th, ends with the screening of ‘The Emperor of Film’, directed by Ning Hao, as the closing film.

Haeundae (Busan) | Reporter Seungmi Lee smlee@donga.com