[Anchor]

The 31st Busan International Film Festival has just kicked off. Starting this year, the winner of the Busan International Film Festival's competitive section will be eligible for Academy Award submission, further elevating its status. Meanwhile, the controversy continued as the schedules for the director and actors of the film "The Assassin(s)" to attend the opening ceremony were entirely canceled.

Reporter Lee Joo-hyoung has the details.

[Reporter]

Having grown into Asia's premier film festival over the course of 30 years, the Busan International Film Festival has announced its 31st opening.

The opening ceremony has nearly concluded, and the opening film is scheduled to be screened at the outdoor theater.

The aftershocks of the "The Assassin(s)" controversy have also reached the Busan International Film Festival.

The attendance at the opening ceremony and stage greeting schedules for the production team of the film, including Director Hur Jin-ho and actor Yoo Hai-jin, have been canceled.

The film festival organizers stated that while the cancellation of the events is regrettable, they respect the production team's position and have no specific statement to make regarding the "The Assassin(s)" controversy.

This year, 2026, marks a turning point for the Busan International Film Festival.

The festival has been named to the A-list of 17 film festivals worldwide selected by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations.

Starting this year, the Busan International Film Festival has also been included among six film festivals granted eligibility by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences—which hosts the Academy Awards—to submit films independently of the single official entry allotted per country.

[Interview / Jeong Han-seok / Executive Programmer, Busan International Film Festival: While the international status of the Busan International Film Festival is not determined solely by those two pieces of news, it signifies that the international influence held by the Busan film festival is being widely recognized.]

If a Korean film wins the top prize in the competitive section, the "Busan Award Grand Prize," it will be eligible to be submitted alongside Director Lee Chang-dong's "Possible Love" for next year's Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.

At the opening ceremony today (October 6), the Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award was presented to Michelle Yeoh, an actor well known to us as a Hong Kong film star and the first Asian to win the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Drawing a large gathering of Eastern and Western star filmmakers once again this year, the Busan International Film Festival will screen approximately 300 films from 59 countries.

(Photo courtesy of: Naver, Video reporting: Lee Byung-joo, Video editing: Seeun Shin)