A tale of 3 BIFF programmers: Pak Dosin, Kim Young-woo & Nam Dong-chul

Top to bottom: Pak Dosin, Nam Dong-chul, Kim Young-woo

Photo credit: biff.kr

At the Busan International Film Festival, audiences often flock to the newest emerging director or the popular celebrity for a picture and an autograph, but few are familiar with the faces behind the programming of the films. We sit down for a chat with World Cinema programmer Pak Dosin, Asian Cinema programmer Kim Young-woo and Korean Cinema programmer Nam Dong-chul to find out more about programming trends in the festival and what goes on behind the scenes in their jobs.

1. Tell us more about the respective sections you are in charge of programming and the kind of films showcased.

Pak: I’m in charge of films from English-speaking countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia and such. Our main focus is on Asian cinema but it is also an international film festival. The films from non-Asian countries are for the local audiences as well as Asian audiences as well, because many of these films didn't have much chance to be screened in other Asian countries as well. Mainstream films like mother! and The Shape of Water are actually mainly for the locals, but we do have non-Asian films that are independent as well.

Nam: Korean Cinema Today is the biggest programme about Korean cinema and is divided into 2 different sections. The panorama section covers commercial films and independent films. It’s a non-competition section, so some films have already been released in Korea or worldwide, but we are showing them as a kind of “window” on Korean film. The Vision section is a competition section that only shows Korean independent films. We have 5 or 6 awards in the Vision section and I choose only world premieres.

2. How do you find and sieve out the films you want to programme for BIFF?

Pak: In my case I look for American films — either you have to go to film festivals like Sundance or South By Southwest, or you can contact sales agents directly and vice versa they will contact us. For the Australian, Canadian and United Kingdom films, they have governmental organisations that promote their countries' films. So they organise private screenings of collections of private independent films who would like to be submitted to Busan, which I attend. I watch like 50 films for four days, pretty much from morning to the late night. That's how we usually find those hidden independent films. We also have relationships with film sales agencies who deal with independent films so we exchange emails and talk. We meet at the Cannes or Berlin film markets, and we ask them to send us the link of the film or the DVD.

3. What are some distinct characteristics or themes you see in the Southeast Asian films showcased at BIFF?

Pak: Young filmmakers in Asia usually tend to deal with social issues and family problems. In Southeast Asia or India, they have this problem with traditional ways, especially for women. Women are treated really badly in some countries, and many of these films deal with that. So it's the dark side of society they want to deal with and the like.

Kim: Some films from Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines are very new and young filmmakers there are being recognised. These films are very unique and have their own visual language to tell a story to meet the international standards. When you have more complicated situations in your country, we also see more interesting films: for example, Iranian cinema in the 1980 and 90s. Likewise, some Asian countries are having difficult situations now, but cinema has been the answer to the chaos.

4. What are some of the hottest spots for cinema in Asia at the moment?

Kim: This year, I recognized that there were some indie films and new talents from Greater China that needed to be highlighted. Recently, mainstream films from China have been a market-oriented trend. Major directors from the 1980s and 90s have moved to mainland China to make commercial films, losing their indie spirits. But after those filmmakers, emerging new talents with indie spirits have made some interesting films and those trends are reflected in this year's programme.

Pak: The Asian Film Academy takes applications from students from all over Asia. Each year one country applies more than the other and this year it's Nepal. It's a kind of reflection of how the independent filmmaking environment for that country is going and I think in Nepal, cinema is going stronger than ever.

5. What would you say is BIFF’s current position in the hierarchy of film festivals? How do they maintain their stronghold on Asian cinema, in the wake of competition from other film festivals in Asia?

Pak: The competition among film festivals is getting fierce. We have to compete with other international film festivals besides Hong Kong and Tokyo. What they are trying to do is getting high quality films and introducing them as premieres. That’s how people judge the better film festival and that’s how we draw more attention from international guests and domestic audiences. But though we are competing, at the same time we need to work together as well. For instance, the Tokyo International Film Festival has better information on Japanese films than us, and in the same way we have better information on Korean films than them — so we will exchange our information.

6. BIFF has been plagued with controversy since 2014 after it screened the documentary on the Sewol ferry disaster — suffering budget cuts, Lee Yong-gwan being ousted as festival director and boycotts by filmmakers. But with ex-president Park Geun-hye’s impeachment, do you think BIFF is finally emerging from its dark cloud?

Nam: The political atmosphere is important. After the new government was elected, we feel more freedom. Our president came to the festival a few days ago and he promised he would help BIFF without any kind of political pressure. So it’s a new hope. We think people have confidence and it is very important to keep our film festival away from any kind of censorship or political pressure.

Pak: It’s true that we've been through a lot during the last three years ever since we screened the film that the government didn't want us to screen. There are some Korean organisations still boycotting the festival because the mayor who made all this mess hasn't apologise publicly yet, and their boycott is actually helping us to get the mayor's apology. Considering that, I think we are doing fine this year. It's not quite successful but I don't think it's a failure, and I think it will get better next year. We have a new president who is very different from the previous president, so I hope he will be a turning point for us.