The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia, that spotlights new films and first-time directors from Asia and the world.
Many distinguished Documentaries, Dramas and Shorts that screened at BIFF over the years have made their way to Vuulr for licensing. These include directorial debuts and award winning titles and critically acclaimed works from Asian and international filmmakers!
Read on for a sampling of these amazing, heartfelt stories told on film, that will resonate with viewers the world over.
Documentary (Canada)
Winner of the Busan Cinephile Award – Best World Documentary at the Busan International Film Festival (2016)
The Apology follows the personal journeys of three former “comfort women” who were among the 200,000 girls and young women kidnapped and forced into military sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. After decades of living in silence and shame about their past, they know that time is running out to give a first-hand account of the truth and ensure that this horrific chapter of history is not forgotten. Their resolve moves them forward as they seize this last chance to set future generations on a course for reconciliation, healing, and justice.
The documentary also won prizes at the Cork International Film Festival (2016), the International Female Film Festival Malmö (2017), the Los Angeles Women’s International Festival (2018), and the Peabody Awards (2019), among others.
The Apology is available for licensing on Vuulr
Drama (South Korea)
New Current at the Busan International Film Festival (2018)
After losing her son, Jungjoo loses all hope in life, drinking and smoking her life away. She tries to overcome the pain by attending church and praying diligently to no avail. Then one day, she meets Mingoo, a convicted criminal, wearing dirty clothes that have not seen a washer in who knows how long.
Director Kwon Man-ki shared the top prize in the New Currents section at the 2018 Busan International Film Festival, where the jury said the film was “original, surprising and deeply emotional, with detailed characterization, perfect control and masterful psychological development.”
Clean Up is available for licensing on Vuulr
Drama (India, Czech Republic)
Premiered in the Wide Angle: Asian short film competition section at the Busan International Film Festival (2020)
Kanya intimately explores the inner dissonance of an adolescent girl who is experiencing puberty in a traditional Indian family. Kanya is a successful swimming champion with a promising career in sports. Her world collapses when she gets her first period and her family demands that she accepts the traditional status of a woman.
Featured at the 2020 Raindance Film Festival, 2021 UK Asian Film Festival, 2021 Short Shorts Film Festival and Asia, and the 2021 Rhode Island International Film Festival.
Kanya is available for licensing on Vuulr
Drama, Family (Iran)
Released in the New Currents Section at the Busan International Film Festival (2019)
“There are always some people who don’t let others live properly.”
Diapason follows a middle-aged woman and a deputy of a reputable bank of the country, who, on the birthday of her only child, faces challenges that result in the grieving mother fighting for justice in Iran’s inherently patriarchal system.
Nominated for the New Currents Award at the 2019 Busan International Film Festival for Best Film, and multi-award winner at the 2020 Avanca Film Festival, including Best ScreenPlay and Best Feature Film.
Diapason is available for licensing on Vuulr
Drama, Family (Vietnam)
Busan International Film Festival (2019): Official Selection
Nau Van returns home several years after staying in America on the anniversary of his father’s death to meet his family. What his family doesn’t realize is that he has returned with his long-term boyfriend, Ian.
Goodbye Mother is the Winner of the Audience Award at the 2020 Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, as well as the Winner of the Audience Award for Narrative Feature at the 2020 Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival.
Goodbye Mother is available for licensing on Vuulr
Action, Drama, Musical, Historical (Kyrgyzstan)
Premiered Worldwide at the Busan International Film Festival (2018)
Inspired by the 2016 American musical ‘La La Land’, this film is Kyrgyzstan’s first ever musical movie, and the feature debut of director Aibek Daiyrbekov, The Song of the Tree follows the life and tragedy of a Kyrgyz village. Having been expelled from his native village, a young, simple guy takes the daughter of a local lord away with him, but is overtaken and almost beaten to death. He is destined to find himself and his fate, in order to reunite his people again.
The Hollywood Reporter wrote “Set amongst a nomadic community in 18th-century Kyrgyzstan, the film is a simple story well told, partly through song — a kind of high-plains Fiddler on the Roof, but with a spare, direct sensibility to match the wind-scrubbed Central Asian landscape.”
The Song of the Tree is available for licensing on Vuulr
Documentary (China)
Official Selection – Busan International Film Festival (2017)
Hopakuli is one of the young, orphaned monks living in the isolated Tibetan monastery of Lumbini, Nepal, the birthplace of the Buddha. A Little Wisdom follows the boys, without interfering in their lives, capturing the harmony of their modest lives in the temple. Beautifully crafted, this stylish documentary is an intimate immersion into the universal truths of youth.A Little Wisdom is Director Kang Yuqi’s feature directorial debut.
Winner of the Best Canadian Documentary at the 2018 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, and nominated for the SXSW Chicken & Egg Award at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival.
A Little Wisdom is available for licensing on Vuulr.
Drama, Historical (Italy, United States, France)
World Cinema – Busan International Film Festival (2016)
Many years ago, in a nearly deserted town at the foot of a mountain, lived Agostino with his wife Nina and his son Giovanni. The mountain rises up like a wall blocking out the sun that never reaches their fields below, now reduced to just stones and underbrush. Agostino, even though everything suggests him to leave, decides that the destiny of his family is there, among the peaks. He is not only driven by stubbornness, but by the certainty that our roots cannot betray us and that with the help of our spirit we can bring the sun to every destiny.
Special Prize Winner at the 2017 Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists, and featured at the 2016 Venice Film Festival as an ‘Out of Competition’ title.
Monte is available for licensing on Vuulr