Busan Film Festival to Honour Founder Kim Dong-ho With Korean Cinema Award
The Busan International Film Festival will present its founder, Kim Dong-ho, with the Korean Cinema Award at the 31st edition's opening ceremony on October 6 (The Hollywood Reporter).
Kim, who is 88 and still an active film director, established BIFF in 1996 and ran the festival for its first 14 years (Asia Economy). The award is given annually to figures who have advanced Korean cinema's standing in the world. The ceremony will take place at the Busan Cinema Center during the opening night (Chosun Ilbo).
The festival runs October 6–15, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Kim's path to founding one of Asia's most prominent film festivals began inside the government. He spent roughly three decades at South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, rising to vice minister. He also served as president of the Korean Film Council and as the founding president of the Seoul Arts Center.
When BIFF launched in 1996, Kim refused to submit the festival's program to government censors, a decision that established BIFF's editorial independence from the start. He stepped down as festival director in 2010. After that, he served as dean of Dankook University's Graduate School of Cinematic Content, chairman of the Presidential Committee for Cultural Enrichment, and later returned as chairman of BIFF itself.
Kim's footprint extends beyond Korea. He presided over the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival, a sidebar that showcases emerging and formally adventurous work from around the world.
He is also, as of this year, a feature film director. His documentary debut, Mr. Kim Goes to the Cinema, premiered at BIFF's 30th edition and opened in Korean theatres in February. So the man who built the festival's stage has now stood on it as a film-maker in his own right.
In a statement released on Thursday, Kim said he felt deeply moved and humbled to be recognised by the festival he helped establish and served for over 15 years (The Hollywood Reporter).
The opening ceremony will be a crowded night for honours. Michelle Yeoh will receive the Asian Filmmaker of the Year award, and director Ann Hui will be presented with the Chanel-backed Camellia Award. Actor Kim Minha will host the evening.
BIFF's new Competition section will screen 14 films from Korea, Japan, China, Iran, Tajikistan, Taiwan and Sri Lanka across the festival's ten-day run (BIFF official site).
For a festival that has grown from a bold stand against censorship in 1996 into a fixture of the autumn festival circuit, the opening-night tribute to its founder carries a particular weight. Kim Dong-ho built the institution. Now, at 88, the institution is honouring him back.
