Busan 2014: 19th Busan Film Festival Unveils Full Program Guide

Editor; Australia (@Kwenton)
Busan 2014: 19th Busan Film Festival Unveils Full Program Guide
The 19th Busan International Film Festival hits South Korea early next month, and it brings with it a sharper focus and a dynamic program that still remains faithful to the diverse offerings from niche Asian regions.

The festival opens 2nd October with Taiwanese war drama Paradise in Service and closes on the 13th with Hong Kong crime comedy Gangster Pay Day. Actress Moon So-ri and actor Ken Watanabe will be overseeing opening proceedings while Anthony Wong and Charlene Choi close things out in style.

Other gala title include master Im Kwon-taek's 102nd feature Revivre (read Pierce Conran's review of the film here) and Ann Hui's tragic period drama The Golden Era.

Over ten days, three hundred titles from seventy nine countries will permeate South Korea's second largest city. The festival focuses on upcoming talent mostly home, also abroad; but this year in particular there is a sense of renewed vigor in the guise of exciting, youthful and indie titles. Discovery seems to be the key goal with streams encapsulating the sense of exciting new blood and modern masterpieces to analyze and appreciate.

A Window on Asian Cinema and New Currents contain prominent festival titles and new works from Asian non-Korean directors; from Peter Chan's Hong Kong set Dearest and Tsai Ming Liang's Journey to the West to Vietnamese genre-mashup 2030 and Kurd War drama Memories on Stone, the breadth of Asia and subsequent diversity is truly impressive.

Ever popular for unearthing new Korean cinema gems is the Korean Cinema today stream. Last year the beautiful and tragic High School drama Han Gong-Ju captured the hearts and minds of film critics and prominent directors alike and no doubt this year the line-up of fresh talent will deliver.

On the other side of the coin comes a stunning retrospective from Chung Jin Woo, spanning the sixties to the early eighties. Resident Korean correspondent Pierce Conran will be providing an in-depth preview of these programming streams.

World Cinema includes buzz worthy titles from Venice, Toronto and more including the masterful droll mise en scene comedy A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, Tom Hardy and James Gandolfini's crime caper The Drop, French electro biopic Eden and many many more we will divulge in a preview article.

The flash Forward program ushers in new non-Asian talent and competes for the Busan bank award. Rookie directors vie for distribution assistance and this line-up of fresh new talent, including Australian comedian Angus Sampson's directorial debut The Mule should not disappoint.

Special programs this year include a focus on Georgian Women filmmakers and new Turkish cinema.

Open Cinema is an outdoor experience and a wonderful part of the Busan experience. This year the unique sound environment will be more interesting than ever with a screening of the Sundance film festival opener, the psychological drumming drama Whiplash.

Midnight Passion is stronger than ever with true genre and grotesque art-house fare. The director cut of Von trier's Nymphomaniac will be playing as well as It Follows, a terrifying masterpiece of new horror that is a complete must-see. Read Jason Gorber's review of the film here.

Stay tuned to ScreenAnarchy for more Busan news previews and reviews.

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