BiFan 29th Edition Looks Back on Lee Byung-hun while Doubling Down on AI

The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan), Asia's go-to destination for genre film aficionados, this week announced the lineup for its 29th edition, which will open its doors on July 3rd.

Kicking off the festivities this summer in the sweltering Seoul suburb will be Piotr Winiewicz's hybrid documentary About a Hero, which previously opened the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).

In keeping with BiFan's embrace of AI technology, this is a film based on a screenplay generated by an AI program trained on the filmography of Werner Herzog, who gave Winiewicz his blessing to realise the project.

BiFan will once again host a major AI conference, as the festival looks to technology that it believes will revolutionize filmmaking and perhaps even present an avenue of survival for the struggling Korean film industry.

Closing out the festival this year will the local production The Go-To Restaurant from director Han Jay, a comedy-drama produced by none other than Ma Dong-seok (aka Don Lee) through his shingle Big Punch Entertainment.

Among the competition titles this year will be Together, a horror film about a married couple played by real-life couple Alison Brie and Dave Franco, which debuted to rave reviews at Sundance earlier this year.

Looking at the Korean competition titles, among the prominent selections is Kim Bo-sol's animation The Square, which was the closing film of this year's Udine Far East Film Festival.

A wide array of international genre works is peppered throughout the program, which also includes manifold retrospective sidebars, including one on Body Horror, featuring 80s cult classics such as David Cronenberg's Dead Ringers and Frank Henenlotter's Brain Damage.

The retro section getting the most attention will no doubt be 'Actor in Focus: Lee Byung-hun', a celebration of one of Korea's most treasured screen talents. The program will comprise ten of his most beloved titles, including Park Chan-wook's Joint Security Area and Kim Jee-woon's I Saw the Devil.

In fact, there will be a number of sidebars dedicated to celebrating Korean cinema's storied 21st century, including 'B My Guest: Filmmakers R&K', a program dedicated to the works of Filmmakers R&K, the company set up by action maestro Ryoo Seung-wan, and the acclaimed dramatic filmmaker Kim Tae-yong.

Screen Anarchy is eager to get its boots back on the ground for one of the summer highlights on the annual cinematic calendar.