31st BIFF Unveils Opening-Eve and Cubi Road Programs

[Financial News] The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) Secretariat announced on the 4th that it had unveiled the opening-eve event and Cubi Road programs for the 31st BIFF.


This year's festival will welcome audiences first in Nampo-dong, the old downtown area, ahead of its official opening. The opening-eve event, scheduled for 7 p.m. on the 5th at the outdoor stage of BIFF Square in Nampo-dong, will launch this year's festival. From the 8th through the 11th, Cubi Road, offering the essence of Community BIFF, will continue for four days.
Nampo-dong is where BIFF began. Cubi Road is a program that brings this year's festival to the streets steeped in those memories. It will offer a different scene each day, including outdoor screenings, stage greetings and the Nampo Finale, where audiences take center stage.
Singer Kim Da-hyun and Jo Won-hee, chair of the Community BIFF organizing committee, will co-host the opening-eve event. Following the opening declaration, a lighting performance will illuminate BIFF Square, along with a presentation ceremony for the “Film Professional Loved by Busan” plaque. This year's recipient is “popular actor” Park Hae-joon.
During Cubi Road, the outdoor stage at BIFF Square will feature familiar faces from films beloved by audiences. On the 9th, director Ryoo Seung-wan and martial arts director Jung Doo-hong from “The City of Violence,” along with actress Kim Ah-joong and director Byun Young-joo from “200 Pounds Beauty,” will meet audiences.
On the 10th, director Ha Young-mi and actress Kim Hyang-gi from “Hallan,” as well as Chang Kiha from “San San Jo Gak,” will meet with audiences. On the 11th, director Jung Bum-sik and actors Jin Goo, Kim Tae-woo and Lee Dong-gyu from “Epitaph” will greet audiences. In addition, the BIFF Square screen will show “Jungle Story” (1996), “Lump Sugar” (2006) and “A Melody to Remember” (2016), one film per day for three days starting on the 8th.
The square will also offer hands-on activities. The Busan Science Culture Hub Center will run an LED light-drawing activity, while the Busan City Council on Social Welfare will operate a “Connected Editing Room” experience. The citizen film-shooting experience zone organized by Dongseo University Im Kwon-taek College of Film Arts will allow visitors to experience a film set from both in front of and behind the camera.
The “Nampo Finale” will conclude the four-day journey on the afternoon of the 11th. Song Jun-geun will host the event, which will feature a celebratory performance by “Hathaw9y,” a three-member band active in Busan. The final night in Nampo-dong will then be filled with a “Film Quiz Contest,” open to audience participation, and the “Community BIFF Awards.”

[email protected] Byun Ok-hwan Reporter