Busan Film Festival Competition Showcases Mori Tatsuya’s Feature Debut, Choi Ji’s Exploration of Hong Kong, Bangladesh Trio

The main competition section of the Busan International Film Festival is set to showcase two new features from Bangladeshi directors, the feature debut of Japanese documentary maker Mori Tatsuya and ruminations on Hong Kong by mainland Chinese director Choi Ji.

The festival on Wednesday unveiled its New Currents competition section, reserved for films by directors making their first or second works of fiction, as well as its Jiseok section, a showcase for somewhat more established Asian auteurs.

In addition to the Bangladesh duo, New Currents includes two films from Japan, two from Korea and one each from China, Thailand, Malaysia and India.

From Bangladesh, Iqbal H. Chowdhurys The Wrestler sees an old fisherman challenge a wrestling champion to combat, and in The Stranger Biplob Sarkar tells a coming-of-age, gender-identity tale.

From Japan, Mori recounts the events of the Great Kanto earthquake in September 1923, while Yamamoto Akira delves into profound and shocking love in After the Fever.

New Currents Korean contributions come from Lee Jong-su, whose Heritage tracks a man who opts out of military service and his supervisor, and Sohn Hyun-lok, whose That Summers Lie blurs truth and fiction in memories of a past romance.

Indias Rajesh S. Jala (Children of the Pyre) is another documentarian turned fiction filmmaker and will present his The Spark. Choys Borrowed Time presents a fluid blend of past, present, reality and fantasy as a protagonist wanders around Hong Kong.

Thailands Patiparn Boontarig, previously AD on award-winning Manta Ray, takes a step up with Solids by the Seashore. Oasis of Now, by Malaysias Chia Chee Sum, previously part of Busans Asian Film Academy, tells a tale of a girl who cannot reveal her identity. The film was developed at the now-defunct SEAFIC lab.

The Jiseok section, named after former Busan program director Kim Jiseok, will present awards to two of its ten selected films.

Competing are: Toda Akihiros Ichiko, in which another woman is forced to conceal her identity; Ishii Yuyas The Moon, a mental health drama starring Miyazawa Rie and Odagiri Joe.

Sri Lankan veteran Prasanna Vithanaga presents a tale of political societal and emotional misunderstandings in Paradise, while Mostofa Sarwar Farooki and Nusrat Imrose Tisha, deliver the festivals third film from Bangladesh. Their co-written Something Like an Autobiography sees the real-life couple blur the boundaries between reality and fiction.

Kirghiz director Mirlan Abdykalkov (Running to the Sky) delivers a harrowing real-life tale in Bride Kidnapping. Thailands Nontawat Numbenchapol examines the underbelly of Chiang Mai in Doi Boi. Indonesian auteur Yosep Anggi Noen delivers 24 Hours With Gaspar. And Philippines veteran Brillante Mendoza shares tragic drama Moro.

Two films from Korea round out the section: Lee Sangcheols Blesser is a heartfelt tale about a former journalist bringing up a disabled child; while Ahn Sunkyeong (Pascha) examines the filmmaking process in At the End of the Film.

The Busan festival runs Oct. 4-13. Its related markets run Oct. 7-10.