Park Ha-seon, Seo Hyun-woo to host BIFAN opening

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Actors Park Ha-seon and Seo Hyun-woo will co-host the opening ceremony of this year's Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN). The 27th BIFAN kicks off its 11-day run at the Bucheon City Hall Lawn Plaza in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday. It will feature a total of 262 films from 51 countries.

Both actors have long ties with the festival. Park won BIFAN's Fantastic Best Actor Award in 2020 for her role in “Go Back” and Seo took home the same award in 2022 for his role in “Thunderbird.”

Since her debut in 2005 with the SBS drama, “Love Needs a Miracle,” Park has been active in both film and TV dramas. Most recently, she starred in “Where Would You Like to Go?” which is currently playing in theaters.

Seo, who debuted through the musical, “The Harmonium in My Memory” in 2010, has appeared in many hit films including “Honest Candidate 2” (2022) and “Decision to Leave” (2022). Up next, he will star in the Netflix film, “My Name is Loh Kiwan.”

Under the slogan, “Stay Strange,” this year's festival will open with director Ari Aster's “Beau is Afraid,” about a paranoid man named Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) who embarks on an arduous journey to see his mother (Patti LuPone) for her birthday. Aster, who directed horror films such as “Hereditary” (2018) and “Midsommar” (2019) is attending the festival to give a masterclass.

A special retrospective of veteran actor Choi Min-sik will take place during the festival. The 12 films that will be showcased during the festival were selected by Choi himself. The actor will participate in Q&A sessions with the audience after screenings and give a masterclass.

Choi debuted with a supporting role in the series “Ambitious Times” in 1989 and has built an extensive portfolio since, taking roles in over 30 films and 15 TV series.

After his breakthrough role as the lead character in the 1999 action film, “Swiri,” he has taken lead roles in a variety of films, including the Cannes-winning “Chihwaseon” (2002), “Oldboy” and the historical film “Roaring Currents” (2014), which topped Korea's all-time box office with over 17.6 million admissions.

“Like no other Korean actor Choi Min-sik is the face representing Korean cinema; he is Korean cinema himself. In every movie has he starred in, he shows his acting skills go beyond his limits in playing unique characters,” BIFAN programmer Mo Eun-young said.

A total of 10 films, including Cannes' Critics' Week Grand Jury Prize winner “Tiger Stripes” and Taiwanese actor Kai Ko's feature directorial debut “Bad Education,” will compete in the Bucheon Choice for international features while 14 titles were up for competition in the shorts category of the Bucheon Choice. Japanese filmmaker Takashi Shimizu's horror film “Sana” will close the festival.