Busan International Film Festival announced on Tuesday 10 nominees for its new Kim Ji-seok award, honouring the late programming director of BIFF following his death in May this year.
One of the longest serving programmers on the Festival, Kim’s dedication to finding new voices in Asian cinema led to the creation of this award. The 10 nominees are “selected from films produced by active and skilled Asian directors.”
Two films will be selected and awarded prizes of 10 million won ($11,000 AUD). They include representatives from China, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Nepal, India, and the Philippines.
Ash l Li Xiaofeng | China
A medical student, a steelworker, and two murders. Two men reemerge a decade after a young police investigator fails to solve the case, one a success and one saddled with miseries. Unable to leave the past behind, the group of men head towards redemption—or damnation.
The Bold, The Corrupt And The Beautiful l Yang Ya-Che | Taiwan
An ambitious businesswoman who is trying to play the government and industry off each other for personal gain finds herself in trouble after an ingenious plan backfires, leading to murder, and becomes a deadly catalyst that could destroy the life and family she set out to protect.
The Carousel Never Stops Turning l Ismail Basbeth | Indonesia
About a man who never forgets his late wife, newlyweds at a zoo, three girls who travel across the countryside, a prostitute who contemplates her escape, a woman who seeks her mother’s murderer, two farmers who protest against the eviction done by the government, and about a car that witnesses everything.
Goodbye Kathmandu l Nabin Subba | Nepal
Nepal’s brutal civil war wages on during the winter of 2004, three separate characters look for success, identity and love in Kathmandu during a historic upheaval. Amar returns from the US to start a business. Mangal is torn between tradition and rock music, while Robin is pressured to join the Gurkhas.
In the Shadows l Dipesh Jain | UK, India
Is Khuddoos trapped within old Delhi’s city walls, in his own mind, or both? That’s the central question in this psychological thriller, in which a lonely man obsesses over the people he watches on hidden cameras, and a boy he fears is in danger.
Malila: The Farewell Flower l Anucha Boonyawatana | Thailand
Former lovers Shane and Pich navigate a break-up, a wife, child, death, and a terminal illness to reunite, separate and reunite in one final transcendent time. Malila is a film about healing, acceptance, guilt, forgiveness, and the ability to understand life’s uncertainties.
The Scythian Lamb l Yoshida Daihachi | Japan
A government-sponsored program brings six strangers to Uobuka, a small town by the sea. Tsukisue is the pleasant and efficient city official who is in charge of the program. A body is discovered after Tsukisue learns the shocking truth.
Silent Mist l Zhang Miaoyan | China
Danger lurks in the fog that hovers over the winding paths of a canal town in modern-day Southern China. Mysterious incidents occur after an old man arrives. At night a rapist seeks his prey while in daylight a wealthy businessman threatens humble shopkeepers.
Smaller and Smaller Circles l Raya Martin | Philippines
When a dead boy from a poor community is found on a trash heap, nobody cares to notice. Forensic specialist Father Gus Saenz investigates as more pre-teen bodies turn up in a Manilla dump site. Based on an award-winning Filipino novel.
Wilderness l Kishi Yoshiyuki | Japan
Shinjuku in 2021 is the wilderness, where Shinji, an abandoned child, and Clipper, from an abusive home, hone their boxing skills as a way to find their identities. Opposites except for their shared loneliness, the two ultimately make a connection in the ring.
