31st Busan International Film Festival opens tonight: an ‘A-list’ festival for the first time, with its winner heading towards the Oscars

The 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) opens tonight, on Tuesday 6 October 2026, with the opening ceremony at 18:00 Korean time at the Busan Cinema Center. The ceremony is hosted by actress Kim Min-ha, who also stars in the opening film, director Kim Jong-kwan’s “The Table: Day and Night” — a world premiere, an 80-minute anthology of four love stories set in a cafe, as Korea Portal reports.

Important awards will also be presented during the ceremony: Michelle Yeoh will be honoured with the “Asian Filmmaker of the Year” award, while Ann Hui will receive the Camellia Award for her contribution to women in cinema.

Guests this year include major names such as Isabelle Huppert, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Fan Bingbing and Charlotte Gainsbourg, while Alfonso Cuarón will attend together with his son Jonás — the Mexican director’s first-ever visit to Korea. Zhang Yimou chairs the main competition jury, and 13 Asian films are in competition.

The biggest news of this edition is historic: in March 2026, FIAPF (the International Federation of Film Producers Associations) officially declared Busan an “A-list” festival, and under the Academy’s revised rules for the 99th Oscars, the winner of the Busan Award (Best Film in competition) automatically qualifies for the “Best International Feature Film” category, without needing the official national selection, according to TheWrap. Busan thus lines up alongside Cannes (Palme d’Or), Venice (Golden Lion), Berlin (Golden Bear), Sundance and Toronto.

This year’s programme includes 315 films and 246 official selections from 59 countries, including 95 world premieres, plus 69 Community BIFF titles, according to RogerEbert.com. Standout Korean titles include Lee Chang-dong’s “Possible Love”, Hong Sang-soo’s “Nowhere to Lay My Eyes” and Na Hong-jin’s “Hope”, whose director will also hold a master class. The festival runs until 15 October, when the closing ceremony will be hosted by Yim Si-wan, while the Asian Contents & Film Market takes place on 10–13 October.