The 25th Busan International Film Festival took place on October 21 to 30, 2020 at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan, South Korea. A total of 192 films from 68 countries were screened at the festival, the numbers reduced from the previous edition.
The festival was scheduled to be held on October 7–16, 2020, but was postponed due to concern over the spread of COVID-19 after Chuseok holidays. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the attendance of BIFF had been downsized and no international guests were invited to the festival. All outdoor events were also cancelled in order to prevent crowds. The screening limit capacity were only up to 50 people. The judging of all films took place online.
The most prestigious awards of the festival, New Currents, were handed to A Balance and Three.
Juries New Currents Mira Nair, Indian-American director, Head Juror Thierry Jobin, Swiss film critic, Fribourg International Film Festival artistic director Haegue Yang, South Korean visual artist
Kim Jiseok Award Zhao Tao, Chinese actress Jung Sung-il, South Korean film critic and director Mouly Surya, Indonesian director
BIFF Mecenat Award Nick Deocampo, Filipino director Park Inho, South Korean film critic Chalida Uabumrungjit, Thai archive director
Sonje Award Ifa Isfansyah, Indonesian director Kim Yi-seok, South Korean film professor Sharipa Urazbayeva, Uzbekistani director
Actor and Actress of the Year Chu Sang-mi, South Korean actress and director Jung Jin-young, South Korean actor and director
FIPRESCI Award Sanja Struna, Slovenian film critic Sung Il-kwon, South Korean film critic Alin Taciyan, FIPRESCI deputy secretary
NETPAC Award Riccardo Gelli, Florence Korean Film Festival director Kim Kyoung-wook, South Korean film critic Hassan Muthalib, Malaysian writer, film critic, and film historian
DGK Megabox Award Kim Ho-jun, South Korean director Lee Sang-cheol, South Korean director Cho Chang-ho, South Korean director
KBS Independent Film Award Jeong Jae-eun, South Korean director Ju Sung-chul, South Korean film critic Kwak Sin-ae, South Korean film producer
CGK&SamyangXEEN Award Nam Dong-keun, South Korean cinematographer Park Jung-hun, South Korean cinematographer Sung Seung-taek, South Korean cinematographer
Official selection Opening and closing films English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s) Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (closing film) ジョゼと虎と魚たち Kotaro Tamura Japan Septet: The Story of Hong Kong (opening film) 七人樂隊 Ann Hui, Patrick Tam, Yuen Woo-ping, Johnnie To, Ringo Lam, Hark Tsui, Sammo Hung Hong Kong, China
Gala Presentation English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s) In the Mood for Love 花樣年華 Wong Kar-wai Hong Kong, China Love After Love 第一爐香 Ann Hui China Minari Lee Isaac Chung United States True Mothers 朝が来る Naomi Kawase Japan Wife of a Spy スパイの妻 Kiyoshi Kurosawa Japan
Icons English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s) A Night in Haifa Laila in Haifa Amos Gitai Israel, France Another Round Druk Thomas Vinterberg DenmarkCity Hall Frederick Wiseman United States Days 日子 Tsai Ming-liang Taiwan Dear Comrades! Дорогие товарищи Andrei Konchalovsky Russia First Cow Kelly Reichardt United StatesHopper/Welles Orson Welles United States Minamata Mandala 水俣曼荼羅 Kazuo Hara Japan New Order Nuevo orden Michel Franco Mexico, France Sun Children خورشید Majid Majidi Iran Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue 一直游到海水变蓝 Jia Zhangke China The Salt of Tears Le Sel des larmes Philippe Garrel France, Switzerland The Woman Who Ran 도망친 여자 Hong Sang-soo South KoreaUndine Christian Petzold Germany, France
A Window on Asian Cinema English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s) 18 Kilohertz 18 килогерц Farkhat Sharipov Kazakhstan 200 Meters ٢٠٠ متر Ameen Nayfeh Palestine, Jordan, Qatar, Italy, Sweden A'hr കയറ്റം Sanal Kumar Sasidharan India All the Things We Never Said 生きちゃった Yuya Ishii Japan Bittersweet बिटर स्वीट Ananth Narayan Mahadevan India Captive नजरबंद Suman Mukhopadhyay India Cleaners Glenn Barit Philippines Coalesce Les affluents Jessé Miceli Cambodia, France Death of Nintendo Raya Martin Philippines, United States Drowning in Holy Water مردن در آب مطهر Navid Mahmoudi Afghanistan, Iran Everyday Is a Lullaby Putrama Tuta Indonesia Farida's 2000 Songs Фариданинг икки минг қўшиғи Yalkin Tuychiev Uzbekistan Happy Old Year ฮาวทูทิ้ง..ทิ้งอย่างไรไม่ให้เหลือเธอ Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit Thailand Killer Spider عنکبوت Ebrahim Irajzade Iran Little Big Women 孤味 Joseph Chen-Chieh Hsu Taiwan Living In Your Sky 空に住む Shinji Aoyama Japan Mama 妈妈和七天的时间 Li Dongmei China, France Matto's Bicycle Matto Ki Saikal M. Gani India Milestone मील पत्थर - Milestone Ivan Ayr India Ora, Ora Be Goin' Alone おらおらでひとりいぐも Shuichi Okita Japan Sister Sister Chị Chị Em Em Kathy Uyen Vietnam Soirée ソワレ Bunji Sotoyama Japan Striding Into the Wind 野马分鬃 Wei Shujun China The Disciple Chaitanya Tamhane IndiaThe Paper Tigers Quoc Bao Tran Vietnam The Salt in Our Waters নোনা জলের কাব্য Rezwan Shahriar Sumit Bangladesh, France The Slaughterhouse کشتارگاه Abbas Amini Iran There Is No Evil شیطان وجود ندارد Mohammad Rasoulof Iran, GermanyTiong Bahru Social Club Bee Thiam Tan Singapore Where Is Pinki? Pinki Elli? Prithvi Konanur India Wind 随风飘散 Dadren Wanggyal China Yellow Cat Сары мысық Adilkhan Yerzhanov Kazakhstan Your Eyes Tell きみの瞳が問いかけている Takahiro Miki Japan
Highlighted titles and daggers () indicate Kim Joseok Award winners.
New Currents English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s) A Balance 由宇子の天秤 Yujiro Harumoto Japan A Leave 휴가 Lee Ran-hee South Korea Bilesuvar Elvin Adigozel Azerbaijan, France Butterfly on the Windowpane ऐना झ्यालको पुतली Sujit Bidari Nepal Chnchik Aram Shahbazyan Armenia, Germany, Netherlands Harami हरामी Shyam Madiraju India, United States Money Has Four Legs ခြေလေးချောင် Maung Sun Myanmar Snowball 최선의 삶 Lee Woo-jung South Korea Summer Blur 汉南夏日 Han Shuai China Three Tpu Ruslan Pak Kazakhstan, South Korea, Uzbekistan
Highlighted titles and daggers () indicate New Currents winners. Highlighted title and double-dagger () indicate FIPRESCI Award winner. Hashtag () indicates KTH Award winner. Down-arrow () indicates CGK&SamyangXEEN Award winner.
Korean Cinema Today Panorama English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s) Beasts Clawing at Straws 지푸라기라도 잡고 싶은 짐승들 Kim Yong-hoon South Korea CICADA 매미소리 Lee Chung-ryoul South Korea Days of Green 청산, 유수 Shin Dong-il South Korea Deliver Us from Evil 다만 악에서 구하소서 Hong Won-chan South Korea Empty Body 인간증명 Kim Ui-seok South Korea Everglow 빛나는 순간 So Joon-moon South Korea Me and Me 사라진 시간 Jung Jin-young South Korea More Than Family 애비규환 Choi Ha-na South Korea Peninsula 반도 Yeon Sang-ho South Korea Spring Song 스프링 송 Yoo Jun-sang South Korea Steel Rain 2: Summit 강철비 2: 정상회담 Yang Woo-suk South Korea The Man Standing Next 남산의 부장들 Woo Min-ho South Korea Three Sisters 세자매 Lee Seung-won South Korea Time to Hunt 사냥의 시간 Yoon Sung-hyun South Korea Vestige 달이 지는 밤 Kim Jong-hwan, Jang Kun-jae South Korea
Vision English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s) And There Was Light 온 세상이 하얗다 Kim Ji-seok South Korea Beyond You 그대 너머에 Park Hong-min South Korea Fighter 파이터 Jéro Yun South Korea Good Person § 좋은 사람 Jung Wook South Korea Limecrime 라임크라임 Lee Seung-hwan, Yoo Jae-wook South Korea Our Joyful Summer Days 기쁜 우리 여름날 Lee Yu-bin South Korea Our Midnight 아워 미드나잇 Lim Jung-eun South Korea Short Vacation 종착역 Kwon Min-pyo, Seo Han-sol South Korea The Slug 태어나길 잘했어 Choi Jin-young South Korea Young Adult Matters 어른들은 몰라요 Lee Hwan South Korea
Highlighted title and dagger () indicate NETPAC Award winner. Highlighted titles and double-daggers () indicate DGK MEGABOX Award winners. Section sign (§) indicates CGV Arthouse Award winner. Hashtag () indicates KTH Award winner. Up-arrow () indicates KBS Independent Film Award winner.
World Cinema English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s) All Hands on Deck À l'abordage! Guillaume Brac FranceAmmonite Francis Lee United Kingdom, Australia, United States And Tomorrow the Entire World Und morgen die ganze Welt Julia von Heinz Germany, France Beginning Დასაწყისი Dea Kulumbegashvili France, Georgia Berlin Alexanderplatz Burhan Qurbani Germany Death Knell Hil kanpaiak Imanol Rayo SpainDigger Georgis Grigorakis Greece, FranceFalling Viggo Mortensen Canada, United Kingdom, DenmarkGagarine Fanny Liatard, Jérémy Trouilh FranceI Carry You with Me Heidi Ewing Mexico, United StatesI Met a Girl Luke Eve Australia I Never Cry Jak najdalej stąd Piotr Domalewski Poland, IrelandIbrahim Samir Guesmi France In the Dusk Sutemose Šarūnas Bartas Lithuania, France, Czech Republic, Serbia, Portugal, LatviaLa fortaleza Jorge Thielen Armand Venezuela, France, Netherlands, ColombiaLa Verónica Leo Medel ChileListen Ana Rocha de Sousa United Kingdom, Portugal Love Affair(s) Les choses qu'on dit, les choses qu'on fait Emmanuel Mouret FranceLowdown Dirty Criminals Paul Murphy New Zealand Mandibles Mandibules Quentin Dupieux France, Belgium My Favorite War Mans mīļākais karš Ilze Burkovska-Jacobsen Norway, Latvia My Tender Matador Tengo miedo torero Rodrigo Sepúlveda Chile, Argentina, Mexico Night of the Kings La Nuit des rois Philippe Lacôte Ivory Coast, France, Canada, Senegal Nowhere Special Uberto Pasolini United Kingdom, Italy, RomaniaPadrenostro Claudio Noce Italy Passion Simple Danielle Arbid France, Belgium Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time Felkészülés meghatározatlan ideig tartó együttlétre Lili Horvát Hungary Quo Vadis, Aida? Jasmila Žbanić Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Romania, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, France, Norway, Turkey Rascal Vaurien Peter Dourountzis France Red Soil Rouge Farid Bentoumi FranceSaint-Narcisse Bruce LaBruce CanadaShe Dies Tomorrow Amy Seimetz United States Shorta Anders Ølholm, Frederik Louis Hviid Denmark Slalom Charlène Favier France Spring Blossom Seize printemps Suzanne Lindon FranceTeddy Ludovic Boukherma, Zoran Boukherma France The Best Families Las mejores familias Javier Fuentes-León Peru, Colombia The Death of Cinema and My Father Too מותו של הקולנוע ושל אבא שלי גם Dani Rosenberg Israel The Third War La Troisième Guerre Giovanni Aloi France The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin) C.W. Winter, Anders Edström United States, Sweden, Japan, United Kingdom Tragic Jungle Selva Trágica Yulene Olaizola Mexico, France, Colombia Zanka Contact Ismaël el Iraki France, Morocco, Belgium
Flash Forward English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s) Beasts La terre des hommes Naël Marandin France Emptiness Vacío Paúl Venegas Ecuador, UruguayNadia, Butterfly Pascal Plante Canada Palmyra Пальмира Ivan Bolotnikov Russia Rival Rivale Marcus Lenz Germany The Art of Dying Far Away A Arte de Morrer Longe Júlio Alves Portugal The Macaluso Sisters Le sorelle Macaluso Emma Dante Italy The Predators I predatori Pietro Castellitto Italy, France Tigers Tigrar Ronnie Sandahl Sweden, Italy, Denmark Trouble Will Find Us Alexander Milo Bischof United Kingdom
Highlighted title and dagger () indicate Flash Forward winner.
Wide Angle Korean Short Film Competition English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s) Ava from My Class 연극 수업 Kang You-min South Korea, United States Georgia 조지아 Jayil Pak South Korea HERO 히로 Jang Jun-young South Korea High Surf Expected 울렁울렁 울렁대는 가슴안고 Ahn Jae-hong South Korea House of Heeji 희지의 세계 Lee Hyo-jung South Korea Peace River 화천 Jang Min-joon South Korea Snail 달팽이 Kim Tae-yang South Korea The Migration-ship 이주선 Oh Yoo-bin South Korea Tree 나무 Cho Hyun-suh South Korea Where Does the Wind Come From? 바람 어디서 부는지 Kim Jee-hye South Korea WolvesLee Seung-wan, Choi Rack-won, Kim Ju-hyeong South Korea
Highlighted title and dagger () indicate Sonje Award winner.
Asian Short Film Competition