Zhang Lu’s Chinese language drama Gloaming In Luomu has received the inaugural Busan Award for greatest movie on the 30th Busan Worldwide Movie Competition (BIFF) as Taiwanese star Shu Qi scooped greatest director with Woman.
This yr’s landmark version of the competition featured a Competitors part for the primary time since its launch in 1996 and awards had been introduced on the closing ceremony tonight, hosted at Busan Cinema Middle.
Scroll down for full checklist of winners
Accepting the award for greatest movie, China-born Korean director Zhang reminded the viewers that he acquired BIFF’s New Currents Award in 2005 with Grain In Ear and opened the competition in 2016 with A Quiet Dream. “I’m nonetheless younger and wholesome… I’ll be on the 100th anniversary,” he quipped.
Gloaming In Luomu focuses on a lady who travels to a small city in southwestern China to seek out out the reality after receiving a postcard from her lacking boyfriend. Gross sales are dealt with by Beijing Monar Movies.
Shu Qi, referred to as the star of Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s Cannes award-winner The Murderer, was viably moved accepting her greatest director prize for Woman. Marking her characteristic directorial debut, the Nineteen Eighties-set drama follows a woman who goals of escape from an abusive family. The actor-turned-director paid tribute to Hou for his help. The movie beforehand premiered in Competitors at Venice.
It was a robust night time for South Korean cinema as Han Chang-lok’s Funky Freaky Freaks received the particular jury award and Yoo Jae-in’s En Route To picked up greatest actor for Lee Ji-won and the New Currents Award.
An extra greatest actor award was shared by Kitamura Takumi, Ayano Go and Hayashi Yuta, the three central performers in Japanese underworld thriller Baka’s Identification, directed by Koto Nagata.
The Busan Award for inventive contribution went to Liu Qiang and Tu Nan, the manufacturing designers on Bi Gan’s Resurrection, which premiered at Cannes and in addition stars Shu Qi.
The BIFF Mecenat awards for documentary got to South Korea’s Raining Mud by Ju Romi and Kim Taeil, and Singing Wings by Iran’s Hemen Khaledi, which CAT&Docs boarded for gross sales.
South Korean filmmaker Na Hong-jin presided over Competitors part jury, which additionally included Hong Kong star Tony Leung Ka-fai, Indian actor-filmmaker Nandita Das, Iranian director Marziyeh Meshkiny, Seoul-born US filmmaker Kogonada, Indonesian producer Yulia Evina Bhara and Korean actress Han Hyo-joo.
Additional awards, competition figures
The competition’s Imaginative and prescient awards – recognising rising unbiased Asian filmmakers, enjoying in its Imaginative and prescient Asia and Imaginative and prescient Korea sections – had been handed out yesterday and had been led by On Your Lap, the characteristic directorial debut of Indonesian actor Reza Rahadian.
This yr’s Asian Filmmaker of the Yr Award went to Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi, who accepted the honour on opening night time.
Additional honours had been introduced to director Chung Jiyong, who acquired the Korean Cinema Award; Asian filmmaker and actor Sylvia Chang, who was given the Camellia Award; and Italian filmmaker Marco Bellocchio, who accepted the BIFF Cinema Grasp Honorary Award.
A ultimate report from BIFF revealed that complete admissions on the competition reached 175,889 – a rise of round 20,000 on 2024 – to its complete choice of 328 movies. An extra 63,000 members attended occasions held all through Busan over the 10-day competition, which included the return of the BIFF Discussion board after a three-year hiatus.
The report additionally said that the 20th Asian Contents & Movie Market, which ran alongside the competition from September 20-24, attracted a report 30,006 guests – a 13.5% enhance on 2024. A complete of 1,222 corporations and three,024 business professionals from 54 nations attended.
On the Busan Exhibitor and Conference Middle (Bexco), ACFM noticed 289 corporations from 31 nations take up 113 cubicles. The Asian Challenge Market hosted 30 upcoming titles, with business awards led by Christine Haroutounian’s Armenia-US venture Black Star Angel.
The 30th version of the competition passed off two weeks sooner than typical to keep away from clashing with Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) and is anticipated to run to its October slot in 2026.
Busan Awards 2025
Finest movie
Gloaming In Luomu, dir. Zhang Lu (China)
Finest director
Shu Qi, Woman (Tai)
Particular jury award
Han Chang-lok, Funky Freaky Freaks (S Kor)
Finest actor
Lee Ji-won, En Route To (S Kor)
Kitamura Takumi, Ayano Go, Hayashi Yuta, Baka’s Identification (Japan)
Inventive contribution award
Liu Qiang, Tu Nan, manufacturing designers, Resurrection (China-Fr)
BIFF Awards
New Currents award
En Route To, dir. Yoo Jae-in (S Kor)
BIFF Mecenat award
Raining Mud, dirs. Ju Romi, Kim Taeil (S Kor)
Singing Wings, dir. Hemen Khaledi (Iran-Geo-Bel)
Sonje award
Delay, dir. Wang Han-xuan (China)
It Sounds Louder On Wet Days, dir. Kim Sang-yun (S Kor)
Particular point out: Interface, dir. Aya Kawazoe (Japan)
