Echo of Busan

Out-of-competition program “Echo of Busan” includes 4 films – the winners and participants of the biggest Asian film festival.

Busan film festival

Busan IFF (earlier known as Pusan IFF) is annually held since 1996. In spite of the fact that it is only the 17th time of the festival it gained the reputation of the most significant and biggest film festivals in Asia, leaving behind the film festivals of Tokyo, Shanghai and Singapore. Thus, in 2020, 307 films from 70 countries were shown and the number of professional guests was around 10,000. The same year, they have finished the construction of Festival Palace with 4,000 seat capacity. From the moment of its foundation, Busan film festival was aimed on presentation of the new films and the films of new coming directors of Asia. In this respect they have arranged the Asian projects market, studies in Asian Film Academy, work of Asian film fund and the organization of Asian film market. In 2010, the Kazakh film “Present to Stalin” by Rustem Abdrashov was shown on the Opening ceremony of the festival.

Films of the program:

• «Nino», Philippines , 2020, directed by Lou Arsenas
  Winner of international competition of Busan’s “New trends” program.
  Delicate drama about the getting old opera star and the interrelations between her children that is far not too simple. Everybody are waiting for the death of Gaspar, the head of the family, in order to get their part of family private residence. This film is a cinema debut for Lou Arsenas, though he became known in America as an art director of Broadway musicals. The film was recognized as the “Best film of the year” at Philippines.
• «Unbowed», South Korea, 2020, directed by Chung Ji-young
  One of the significant high-budget South Korean films of 2020.
  In 1995, Professor Kim claimed that there was a serious mathematical mistake in the examination test for the university applicants. Nobody listened to him and he was fired from the job. The Professor sued on his ex-management but he lost a suit. 12 years later, the judge who had taken a verdict met the Professor in the dark corridor and he found in terror that Professor was holding a crossbow in his hands.
• «Hanaan», South Korea-Uzbekistan, 2020, directed by Ruslan Pak
  The first co-production of Korea and Uzbekistan
  The film participant of the film festivals in Busan and Locarno in 2020. In July, 2021 he gained the Grand Prix at the Taipei film festival in Taiwan. The main hero Stas is the young Korean in the third generation, living in Uzbekistan. He and his three friends are trying to get out of the depressing life. Everyone has his own way – through drugs, emigration or even death.
  This film has participated in Busan and Lokarno film festivals of 2020. In July, 2021, the film received the Grand-prix of Thai Pai film festival
•  “Christ’s hospital”, South Korea, 2020, directed by Shin A-ga, Lee San-Cheol
  This film is the prize winner of Busan and Munich film festivals
  Hun-sun is a milk delivery girl with a temper has her secret which she reveals only to her 20-year old pregnant daughter and sick mother who is in coma. When her brother and sister clamor against the support of mother’s life, Hun-Sun starts saying strange things and her family considers her as a heretic. But everything solves out in a very unexpected way.