Fan Bingbing brings Wayne Wang film to Busan and questions AI microdramas
Fan Bingbing used her return to the Busan International Film Festival to warn that young viewers in China are not getting enough from what they watch.
Speaking in Busan, the actor said she watches AI-generated microdramas now and then and questioned whether the short, phone-made serials popular in China offer younger audiences the artistic nourishment she once found in cinema, according to Variety. "I feel that young people in China aren't being fed very well," she said, referring to the screen content they consume.
It was a blunt note in an otherwise celebratory visit. Busan's 31st edition runs Oct. 6-15, 2026, according to BIFF. Fan's trip is her third to the festival.
Her main title here is Wayne Wang's "Diary of a Mad Old Man." Fan presented the film in A Window on Asian Cinema, the festival's showcase for new films from across the region. The adaptation of a work by Tanizaki had its world premiere at Toronto's TIFF26, before travelling to Busan.
Fan held a press conference for the film on Oct. 7 at the Busan Cinema Centre, according to The Straits Times. She plays the daughter-in-law in a household centred on a 70-year-old man left partly paralysed after a stroke, a role played by Lily Franky. She acknowledged the material will not suit every viewer. "For me, what matters most is that I really enjoyed myself on this film," she said.
She also backed a new short. Fan presented "She Said" by Ivan Tan, which world premiered in Wide Angle, Busan's section for shorts, documentaries and experimental work, in its Asian Short Film Competition.
AI came up again when Fan spoke about acting itself. She said human performances hold many emotions and expressions, and argued the performances in Lee Chang-dong's "Possible Love" cannot be conveyed or replicated by AI.
Her other Busan role is as a guest programmer. Fan curated the festival's Carte Blanche strand, in which filmmakers and actors pick films that shaped them, alongside Korean director Kim Jee-woon, according to Variety. Her choice was Park Chan-wook's "The Handmaiden."
The pick has history. Fan served alongside Park on the Cannes jury in 2017. She said she first watched "The Handmaiden" 10 years ago and had to make a special effort to see it because it had never been released in China. She added she would be delighted to work with Park if the chance arose.
What makes this stand out is how visible Fan has become on the festival circuit. She largely disappeared from Chinese screens after a 2018 tax evasion case. Since then she has worked abroad, including the Korean-language feature "Green Night," and won best leading actress at Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards, the main awards for Chinese-language cinema, for the Malaysian drama "Mother Bhumi."
In Busan she joins a strong Chinese-language presence that includes Shu Qi and Zhou Xun, according to Variety. Michelle Yeoh accepted the Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award at the opening of the 2026 festival.
