The 22nd Busan International Film Festival, which opened Oct. 12 and ends Saturday, seemed to be in better shape this year.
Last year, various South Korean film industry groups boycotted Asia's biggest film event, which for the past three years has been caught up in a scandal precipitated by the Busan mayor's objection to BIFF showing a documentary that criticized the government's handling of the Sewol ferry disaster. The city, which is BIFF's main sponsor, was accused of throttling free speech, and it retaliated by prosecuting the festival director for embezzlement.
Matters intensified this year when it was reported that the administration of deposed South Korean President Park Geun-hye targeted filmmakers it didn't like with a blacklist to withhold government funding. Then, in August, after it was rumored there might not be a festival this year, the current director, Kang Soo-youn, and co-founder and chairman Kim Dong-ho both said they would resign after this year's edition due to criticism that they were too accommodating to the mayor. And this was after Kim Ji-Seok, the festival's original programmer and its soul and conscience, died suddenly while attending Cannes.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.