Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival to Open with Record 321 Films

SEOUL, June 9 (Yonhap) -- The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) will open next month, featuring a record 321 films as the annual film fest marks its 30th edition, organizers said Tuesday. BIFAN will take place in venues across Bucheon, west of Seoul, from July 2-12, according to the organizers. The film fest will showcase a record 321 features and shorts from 50 countries, including 93 films that will make their world premiere. "We prepared a diverse lineup of works on the largest scale ever ... so that viewers can experience the intrinsic power of cinema and build a deep emotional connection," actress Chang Mi-hee, chairperson of the BIFAN organizing committee said in a press conference. This year's BIFAN will open with Yuen Woo-ping's "Blades of the Guardian," an action film starring martial arts icon Jet Li. To mark its 30th anniversary, the film fest will launch a new section called "Asian Genre Films 99," a three-year project to map the landscape of Asian genre cinema. A special section will be dedicated to French sci-fi films to mark both the film fest's 30th anniversary and the 140th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between South Korea and France this year. Reflecting the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the film fest will feature more than 30 films incorporating AI technology in both the international competition and non-competition sections. The film fest will also incorporate extended reality technology for the "Beyond Reality" section to provide a more immersive experience for visitors, organizers said.