As one of the most significant film festivals in Asia the Busan International film Festival which was previously known as the Pusan International Film Festival is held annually in Haeundae-gu Busan in South Korea.
The very first was held way back in September of 1996 and this year (2018) will be the 23rd Busan International Film Festival taking place on the 4th October through to the 13th. In all 401 projects applied for APM (Asian Project Market) 2018 which is approximately a 30% increase over the previous year and those 401-project covered 69 countries.
The successful newly selected 29 projects include Asian directors and producers who are currently working in the industry as well as those filmmakers that are thought talented enough to attract positive attention.
Directors like Zhang Lu who gained an international reputation with the award-winning film Grain in Ear and whose film A Quiet Dream was the one selected to be the opening film of the Busan International Film Festival 2016 as well as the director Kim Ulseok who was the winner of last year’s New Currents Award winning film After My Death are both to visit APM 2018 with their projects The Martyrdom and Yanagawa.
Other new Asian projects that can be seen at this year’s Busan International Film Festival include; The Final Print by director Jang Woo-jn who is the winner of Vision-Directors Award 2016 with the film Autumn, Autumn and In the Water by director Shin Dongseok whose film Last Child was selected by New Currents 2017 and Berlin International film Festival 2018.
Other projects have been selected from China and Japan as well as new projects from the southwest of Asia where the Busan International Film Festival still provides support to directors like Antoinette Jadaone and director Dechen Roder from Bhutan who have had success with their films Fan Girl and I, the Song.
The Busan International Film Festival specialises in introducing and promoting new films and up-coming first-time directors attracting a great number of young people, especially in the audiences as well as its efforts to develop young talent.
Interestingly, it was in an inconspicuous picture house tucked away at the back of a south Korean shopping mall that saw Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese’s film The Audition shown for the first time after it was pulled from the programme in Venice due to complaints about it be too commercial.
Starring performances by Robert De Niro, Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio made sure that there was a full house at the 10am screening of the Busan International Film Festivals short film showcases programme, especially after all of the mystery that has surrounded the project due to the rumours that circulated about it origins.
The whole idea for the film was conceived by the billionaire, James Packer along with his partner in business Larence Ho, and the concept was to promote Studio City which is a $3.2 billion Hollywood-inspired casino which is being built within the Chinese enclave of Macau.
Unfortunately, a visit to Macau is simply not on the cards for many of us who instead turn to online games and gaming to get our casino thrills. Today online gambling is a multi-billion industry in its own right with all forms of casino games, slots and bingo sites that accept PayPal proving to be popular with all ages and cultures.
We love to gamble, we enjoy everything to do with gambling, the glitz and glamour and the high life associated with casinos has always drawn us, and film-makers to the whole casino environment and The Audition was included in the Busan International Film Festival on its merits, and not surprisingly so when you consider what talent was packed into those 16 minutes of film.
