The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has announced its complete programme for 2026, with 246 films set to be screened and a 14-film Competition section at the centre of the lineup.
The festival will also welcome a number of major names from international cinema, including Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michelle Yeoh, Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi and Japanese anime director Rintaro.
The Competition, now entering its second edition, features 14 titles.
Twelve will make their world premieres at the festival, while four have been selected as debut features.
The lineup includes Beach Fictions, the debut feature from South Korean filmmaker Lim Hayeon, Hirose Nanako’s Between Two Lovers and Majidi’s new film Midday Meal.
Majidi is also scheduled to attend BIFF for the first time.
Two Indonesian productions — Eddie Cahyono’s Ibuku and Yosep Anggi Noen’s The Sea Speaks His Name — are also competing.
Uzbekistan will be represented by Botir Abdurakhmanov’s debut feature Hilol.
This year’s edition carries added significance after BIFF received “A-list festival” status from the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF).
The recognition means the winner of the Busan Award for Best Film, the Competition’s highest honour, will be eligible for submission to the Academy Awards’ Best International Feature Film category.
Gyllenhaal will travel to Busan with her short film Flesh Impact, which was made in connection with the 100th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe’s birth.
The short will be screened alongside Monroe’s 1956 film Bus Stop as part of a Special Screening programme.
Gyllenhaal will also join a special conversation during the festival.
Yeoh has been selected as this year’s Asian Filmmaker of the Year.
Hong Kong director Ann Hui will receive the Camellia Award for her contribution to promoting the position of women in cinema.
Meanwhile, Kim Dong-ho, one of BIFF’s founders and its former chairman, will be honoured with the Korean Cinema Award.
The guest list also includes French actress Isabelle Huppert, Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz, Indonesian actress Christine Hakim and Rintaro.
BIFF will stage five more official screenings than last year, bringing the total to 246 — the festival’s biggest programme since 2019.
The 2026 edition will begin on 6 October, one day earlier than the previous schedule.
During the busiest period, the festival will increase its daily screening capacity from four films to five.
Kim Jong-kwan’s The Table: Day and Night will open the festival with its world premiere.
The film centres on four couples whose stories unfold at the same café between summer and autumn.
The Vision Korea section will bring together 12 films, among them Kim Hyomi’s first animated feature Earbug, Park Kun-young’s Things I Left At The Theater and Shin Dongmin’s Not For You.
Vision Asia will feature 11 productions, including Nguyen Hoang Diep’s 1982, Arvin Belarmino’s Ria and Isabella Lam Lok-hin’s debut film Dead End.
Three upcoming series — Blue Road, Dead-End Job and The Remarried Empress — will be featured in the On Screen section.
The Korean Cinema Today – Panorama programme will include Na Hong-jin’s Hope and Yoon Dan-bi’s The World Before.
Among the festival’s special programmes is a retrospective dedicated to veteran Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki.
BIFF will also host a Japanese animation showcase featuring films by Rintaro, Kadowaki Kohei, Katanosaka Ryo, Natsume Shingo and Shinomiya Yoshitoshi.
The festival’s industry platform, the Asian Contents and Film Market, has chosen Thailand as its first Country of Honour.
Japan, meanwhile, will be the Focus Country for Producer Hub.
The Asian Project Market has selected 30 projects from 20 countries for its 2026 edition.
BIFF 2026 Competition lineup
Beach Fictions — Lim Hayeon (South Korea) — World premiere, debut feature
Between Two Lovers — Hirose Nanako (Japan) — World premiere
The Day After Sunday — Kato Takuya (Japan, France) — World premiere
Descendants — Chen Jiwen (China) — World premiere
The First Taste of Loneliness — Gu You (China) — World premiere
Hilol — Botir Abdurakhmanov (Uzbekistan) — World premiere, debut feature
Ibuku — Eddie Cahyono (Indonesia, Japan) — World premiere
Long Long Night — Youm Kyubock (South Korea) — Debut feature
Midday Meal — Majid Majidi (Iran) — World premiere
Satoko Always — Okita Shuichi (Japan) — International premiere
The Sea Speaks His Name — Yosep Anggi Noen (Indonesia) — World premiere
Shaving — Kim Jung-Hoon (South Korea) — World premiere
Silver Express — Tanaka Miki (Japan) — World premiere, debut feature
To Be Ordinary — Lee Yun Chan (Taiwan) — World premiere
