Festivals: Pifan
International Genre Focused Hub 'Fantastic Pavilion' to Launch at Marche du Film at Cannes
Variety had the exclusive yesterday, an announcement of the creation of Fantastic Pavilion, "... a significant booth and exhibition space located at the Cannes Marché du Film in the Palais des Festivals". Announced this week during Ventana Sur in...
BiFan 2022 Review: JINJU'S PEARL, Charming but Half-Baked Ode to Local Culture
After bagging a passel of awards at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival two years ago with his rich and lively debut Festival (full disclosure, I was on that jury), director Kim Lokkyoung returns to BiFan with his sophomore work,...
BiFan 2022 Review: MIND UNIVERSE, SF Indie Explores Ideas of Grief and Memory
Given the increasingly democratic access to film technology and the explosion of box office, ratings and streaming success for genre stories in the Korean market, it's no surprise that a growing number of local filmmakers have embraced science fiction, a...
BiFan 2022 Review: A GOOD BOY, Layered Korean Indie Explores a Teacher's Worst Nightmare
Teachers often go beyond their remit to educate, especially if they notice something wrong with the children they've been charged with. In Son Kyoungwon's debut film A Good Boy, a well-meaning teacher learns just how dangerous it can be to...
BiFan 2022 Review: THE FIFTH THORACIC VERTEBRA, Singular Debut Promises Great Things to Come
Without a doubt the most unique Korean film presented at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (or indeed anywhere) this year, The Fifth Thoracic Vertebra is the debut feature of Park Syeyoung, a 26-year-old filmmaker with an arresting and inimitable...
BiFan 2022: YOU WON'T BE ALONE and BODY PARTS Take Top Prizes in Bucheon
You Won't Be Alone, the debut film of director Goran Stolevski, prevailed at the 26th edition of the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan), where it won the Best of Bucheon Award, the top prize in the festival's signature Bucheon...
WHISPERING CORRIDORS 6 to Open 24th BiFan
2020 has been a long, strange and difficult year but for genre film afficionados in Korea, at least the high point of their calendar will be returning this summer as the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan) has just announced...
BiFan 2019 Review: THE 12TH SUSPECT, Stagey Mystery Explores Oppressive History
This year's BiFan came to a close with a trip back to the Japanese Occupation Era in the whodunnit The 12th Suspect. Kim Sang-kyung leads a cast filled with indie cinema stalwarts in a tense single location murder mystery that...
BiFan 2019 Review: FILM ADVENTURE, Well-Performed Drama Less Exciting Than Its Title Suggests
The accomplished young actor Cho Hyun-chul returns to screens as a neurotic actor who embarks on a pensive journey peppered by unusual encounters after a row with his girlfriend in Film Adventure, the second feature film by Lee Sang-deok, following...
BiFan 2019 Review: ALL ABOUT MY RIVAL IN LOVE, Style and Kooky Lead Jazz Up Familiar Story
Five years after bursting onto to the scene with his kinetic debut Alice in Earnestland, a feature graduation project from the Korean Academy of Film Arts (KAFA) which earned the top Korean film prize at the Jeonju International Film Festival...
BiFan 2019: 10 Films You Should Check Out at the 23rd Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival
Asia's top genre celebration is almost upon us, and as we pack our bags for the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan), we've prepared a few titles to look out for in this year's vast program. Between our recent festival...
BiFan 2019: 10 Films to get Excited for at the 23rd Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival
Our annual pilgrimage to the soju-soaked suburbs of South Korea is just days away, with the 23rd Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival getting underway this Thursday. The event promisies 11 days of the finest indie genre offerings from around the...
BiFan 2019: THE GASOLINE THIEVES to Open Jam-Packed, SciFi-Themed 23rd Edition
We're now just four weeks away from the crown jewel on the calendar for genre film fans in Asia, as the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan) has just unveiled the program for its 23rd edition. The main theme will...
BiFan 2018 Review: BEAUTIFUL VAMPIRE Bites Into Endearing and Quirky Horror Romcom
Combining the stylings of a young Park Chan-wook with the emotional sensibilities of the Korean drama world, debut feature Beautiful Vampire stood out from the crop of local indie genre features making their debuts at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film...
BiFan 2018: NAFF Awards Claimed by WORM and SOUL SEARCHING
Taking place just a few blocks away from the theaters screening the world's genre cinema delights in Bucheon, the Network of Asian Fantastic Film (NAFF) returned for its 11th edition to promote the global genre hits of tomorrow. In all,...
BiFan 2018: REVENGE & LAND OF HAPPINESS Claim Top Prizes
After ten days of hot days, long summer nights and endless genre treats in Bucheon, this year's BiFan finally drew to a close in late July. Earning this year's top award was Coralie Fargeat's acclaimed horror-thriller Revenge. Meanwhile Jung Min-kyu's...
BiFan 2018: ScreenAnarchy Offers Its Picks for This Year's Jam-Packed Bucheon!
We're now just 48 hours away from the opening of this year's 22nd Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan), and while the ScreenAnarchy team is busy packing their printed tees, brollies and aspirin, we've also found a little time to...
BiFan Promises Thrills and Chills in Stuffed 22nd Lineup
Pollution particles and yellow dust have been replaced by summer humidity hanging in the air, which can only mean one thing - BiFan is just around the corner! On a hot Thursday afternoon in early June in Central Seoul, the...
BiFan 2017 Review: SUDDENLY IN DARK NIGHT Goes Bump in All the Right Places
From Kim Ki-young's The Housemaid in 1961 all the way to Park Chan-wook's The Handmaiden last year, Korean cinema has delighted in torrid tales of disruptive house servants. Whether as a way to contrast social classes or explore illicit sexuality,...
BiFan 2017 Review: COFFEE NOIR: BLACK BROWN Brews Fresh Prohibition Drama with a Bitter Kick
An intriguing concept can be enough to pull you into a film, but what keeps you there is a sense of purpose and steadfast execution. Korean indie Coffee Noir: Black Brown, the third film from emerging talent Jang Hyun-sang, which...
