President Moon Jae-in visited the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) Sunday to watch “Missing,” a Korean film about the social challenges faced by women by director Lee Eon-hee.
BIFF opened on Oct. 12 with Shin Su-won’s “Glass Garden” for a 10-day run, featuring 298 films from 75 countries, and will close with renowned Taiwanese director Sylvia Chang’s “Love Education” on Oct. 21. This is the first time the festival’s opening and closing screenings are both works by female directors.
The presidential office said it is the first time an incumbent President has visited the festival. The BIFF has grown into Asia’s largest film festival since it was launched in 1996, but it went through a lot during the previous Park Geun-hye administration.
In the past few years, the film festival came under controversy for political interference due to a row between the Busan city administration and the organizing committee over the screening of the 2014 “Truth Shall Not Sink with the Sewol” (also called “Diving Bell”), which deals with the government’s failed rescue efforts during the Sewol ferry sinking.
The controversy undermined Busan’s status as Asia’s cinema hub and the international film community issued statements underlining their concerns about the political interference in BIFF. A host of actors and directors boycotted the festival last year.
The President’s visit reflects the Moon’s administration’s interest in rebuilding the festival. President Moon met with filmmakers and industry insiders to hear their concerns after watching the movie. The Moon administration should come up with ways to rebuild the film festival by increasing its budgetary support and advancing the management of the festival to better promote diversity and freedom of expression.