[Anchor]

The 31st Busan International Film Festival has officially kicked off. Starting this year, the Grand Prize winner in the competition section will earn eligibility for Academy Award submission. Meanwhile, the scheduled attendance of the production team and actors of the controversial film The Assassin(s) at the opening ceremony has been canceled.

Reporter Lee Joo-hyoung has the details.

[Reporter]

Growing over the past 30 years into Asia's premier film festival, the Busan International Film Festival has marked its 31st opening.

The fallout from the controversy surrounding The Assassin(s) also reached the festival.

The scheduled attendance and stage greetings of the film's production crew and cast, including director Hur Jin-ho and actor Yoo Hai-jin, were canceled.

Festival organizers stated that while the cancellation of the events is regrettable, they respect the production team's stance and have no specific official statement to make regarding the controversy over The Assassin(s).

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

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

Starting this year, the festival has also been included among six film festivals granted the qualification to submit films to the Academy Awards—hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the United States—separately from the single official submission allowed per country.

[Jeong Han-seok / Busan International Film Festival Programme Director : While the international status of the Busan International Film Festival is not solely determined by these two pieces of news, they serve as significant recognition of the global influence the festival holds.]

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

At the opening ceremony, the Asian Filmmaker of the Year award was presented to Michelle Yeoh, a renowned Hong Kong film star and the first Asian actress to win the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Attractively drawing numerous star filmmakers from both the East and the West this year, the Busan International Film Festival will screen about 300 films from 59 countries.

(Photo courtesy of: Naver, Video by: Lee Byung-joo, Video Editing by: Shin Seeun)