Michelle Yeoh, Hirokazu Kore-eda and Lee Chang-dong have already made headlines as the 31st Busan International Film Festival moves into its first week, with a new group of Asian films beginning to draw attention.
BUSAN — The 31st Busan International Film Festival opened Tuesday with a packed red carpet and a strong international presence. Two days in, however, the attention is beginning to move from the opening ceremony to the films themselves.
Running through October 15, this year’s festival is presenting 316 films from 59 countries, including 247 official selections. Among the early talking points are Michelle Yeoh’s return to Busan, Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Look Back, Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Love, and a new group of Asian films competing for the Busan Award.
For a festival known for introducing Asian filmmakers to international audiences, the first days are already offering a mix of established names and less familiar titles.
Michelle Yeoh Returns to Busan
One of the biggest names at the opening was Michelle Yeoh, who returned to the festival for the first time in 15 years to receive its Asian Filmmaker of the Year award.
Yeoh appeared on the opening-night red carpet alongside a group of international and Asian filmmakers and actors, including Fan Bingbing, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alfonso Cuarón and Hirokazu Kore-eda.
The festival is also presenting a retrospective dedicated to Yeoh, titled “Everything Everywhere All for Michelle.” The program brings together films from different stages of her career, including Everything Everywhere All at Once, Reign of Assassins, Sandiwara and Bai Xue’s It’s My Time.
In It’s My Time, Yeoh plays Zhao, a woman living in a nursing home whose life changes after she encounters a former Rubik’s Cube champion. The film was presented in Busan during the festival’s opening days.
Yeoh also spoke with the Korean press about her career and upcoming work, including Blade Runner 2099, during her visit to Busan.
Busan Opens With a Quiet Korean Film
The festival’s opening film was Kim Jong-kwan’s The Table: Day and Night, an 80-minute Korean anthology built around four conversations in a café.
The ensemble includes Kim Min-ha, Joo Jong-hyuk, Han Sun-hwa, Chang Ryul, Shim Eun-kyung and Lee Hee-jun.
The film is loosely connected to Kim’s 2016 movie The Table, which also centered on conversations around a table. Rather than opening with a large-scale commercial production, Busan chose a small, character-driven Korean film for the start of its 31st edition.
The first international reviews have been mixed but attentive. Screen International praised the performances while finding the film less substantial than its predecessor.
That makes The Table: Day & Night an unusually intimate opening choice for a festival that has entered a new A-list chapter this year.
Kore-eda Brings Look Back to Busan
Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Look Back is among the most anticipated films in the festival’s Gala Presentation program.
The live-action adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s manga follows two young girls, Fujino and Kyomoto, whose friendship grows from their shared passion for drawing manga. Natsuki Deguchi and Aju Makita play the two central characters.
Kore-eda discussed the film in Busan, explaining that Fujimoto’s original manga made him think about why people create stories and why he continues to make films himself.
The director also shot the film’s four seasons on 35mm film. He said the limitations of shooting on film created a particular tension for the actors and helped keep their attention on the moment being filmed.
Look Back screened in Busan on October 7. The film had previously been presented in competition at the Venice Film Festival.
Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Love Arrives After Venice
Another major Korean title reached Busan almost immediately after opening night.
Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Love stars Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong. The film won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at the 2026 Venice Film Festival.
Presented in Busan’s Icons section, the film received one of the festival’s early major audiences on October 7, followed by an Open Talk featuring Lee Chang-dong and members of the cast.
The story follows two couples whose lives become increasingly entangled through marriage, work and old relationships.
For Korean audiences, the Busan screening also marked one of the first major opportunities to see Lee’s latest film after its Venice run.
The Competition Begins to Show Its Shape
While the biggest names are concentrated in the opening and gala programs, the Competition is where Busan’s discovery element becomes more visible.
The section contains 13 films, representing filmmakers from across Asia, including Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Iran, Uzbekistan and Indonesia.
Among the titles to watch are Majid Majidi’s Midday Meal, Yosep Anggi Noen’s The Sea Speaks His Name, Gu You’s The First Taste of Loneliness and Japan’s Satoko Always.
The Sea Speaks His Name, which receives its world premiere in Busan, is set against Indonesia’s political upheaval in the early 1990s and follows a university student caught up in the country’s democracy movement.
The First Taste of Loneliness, directed by Gu You, follows three Chinese women dealing with the death of a family patriarch. The film has already begun attracting international critical attention following its Busan screening.
Satoko Always, meanwhile, focuses on three women at different stages of life and has also received early attention for its performances and understated approach.
These are the kinds of films that can become more important as a festival progresses, particularly when the initial focus on major names begins to fade.
More Films and Filmmakers to Watch
Busan’s opening days have also brought a wide range of filmmakers and projects outside the main competition.
Alfonso Cuarón made his first visit to Korea and appeared in a special conversation connected with his film Gravity. Fan Bingbing arrived with Wayne Wang’s Diary of a Mad Old Man.
Maggie Gyllenhaal is also at the festival with Flesh Impact, a short film made to mark the centenary of Marilyn Monroe’s birth. The film stars Ellen Burstyn and Dakota Johnson.
Animation is another notable part of this year’s program. Busan’s special Japanese animation program includes 13 feature and short works, while the Midnight Passion section has introduced an All-Night Animation program. Legendary Japanese animator Rintaro is among the major figures connected with the animation programming.
What to Watch as Busan Moves Into Its First Week
After the first two days, the festival has already established several different stories.
Michelle Yeoh has provided the star power. The Table: Day & Night has given Busan a deliberately intimate opening. Kore-eda’s Look Back has brought one of Japan’s leading filmmakers to the festival with a very different kind of adaptation, while Possible Love arrives with the momentum of its Venice prize.
The Competition is beginning to provide another layer, with films such as Midday Meal, The Sea Speaks His Name, The First Taste of Loneliness and Satoko Always offering some of the less familiar titles to watch as the festival continues.
There are still more than a week of screenings, conversations and premieres to come.
The stars may dominate the opening-night cameras. By the end of Busan, it will be the films that determine what people remember.
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