Entertainment News

Busan film festival ends with its biggest crowds since 2015, despite 'The Assassin(s)' row

The 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) closed on October 15 with 200,043 screening admissions, its highest since 2015, The Korea Herald reported. Counting talks and other events, attendance reached 277,027, about 40,000 more than last year. Organisers credited a Tuesday opening and extra screenings. The festival showed 315 films, including 94 world premieres, and was the first since it gained 'A-list' status from the international producers' federation.

The edition opened on October 6 with Kim Jong-kwan's small anthology The Table: Day and Night, as the whole team of the political thriller The Assassin(s) pulled out of the festival. The film by Hur Jin-ho revisits the 1974 shooting aimed at President Park Chung-hee that killed first lady Yuk Young-soo, and was condemned by the conservative main opposition party as propaganda.

“This is the press conference for the opening film, so we'd like to keep the focus on it.” — programmer Jung Ji-hye, via The Korea Herald

The Korea Times reported Korean filmmakers urging politicians to let audiences judge the film. Gulf News focused on the cancelled appearances of its stars. The Korea Herald said Majid Majidi's Midday Meal won the top prize.

How each outlet framed it

• The Korea Herald — the festival's numbers and how organisers sidestepped the row.
• The Korea Times — the film industry's defence of free expression.
• Gulf News — the celebrity angle: star events called off.

What we don't know yet: Whether the row affects The Assassin(s)' run in cinemas. This year's top Busan winner is the first eligible for the Oscar for best international feature.