Staged under the illuminated roof of the Busan Cinema Center in South Korea, directors, actors and producers from more than 70 films in BIFF’s official selection walked the red carpet, including Thai star Billkin from blockbuster , India’s Banita Das from and Filipino director Brillante Mendoza. star Lee Jung-jae was also in attendance as well as Portuguese filmmaker Miguel Gomes, who is the subject of a career retrospective at this year’s festival. This year’s honorary Asian Filmmaker of the Year award was presented to Japan’s Kiyoshi Kurosawa, a prolific filmmaker and Cannes regular who won the Silver Lion for best director at Venice in 2020 with .
Congratulatory video messages were sent by Oscar-winning Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho and fellow Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi while an on-screen tribute from US filmmaker Martin Scorsese read: “He’s an absolute master of light, framing and pacing and he has so much control over all three that there are moments in his movies when the slightest gesture in the corner of the frame will send a shiver down your spine.” Kurosawa’s latest two films, and , will play during the festival. Taking to the stage to accept the award, the filmmaker said: “I first participated in BIFF 20 years ago so it’s no exaggeration to say that BIFF has witnessed half of my film career.
.. I believe the audience at BIFF is the most sophisticated in the world.
I came to Busan to present my films to such a discerning audience. Wheth.