A Big Push in Busan

For all you fans of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) there’s been a little bit of news floating around that s very concerning. Call it trouble in paradise, just plain bullying or maybe it’s both. There are forces at work that want to remove the head of the festival, Director Lee Yong-kwan. This is not a mutiny on the good ship but the calls are coming from a once dear ally and supporter. 

BIFF is one of Asia’s premier film festivals and it is coming into it’s twentieth year. It is intrinsically linked to the City of Busan, having it’s own purpose built cinema centre that not only functions as the festival hub but also as a shiny example of the city’s ingenuity and vision. It’s a showcase of advanced architectural and engineering know how featuring the world’s largest outdoor cinema and the world’s largest cantilever roof, along with some beautiful cinemas, meeting rooms and offices.

It really is spectacular!

Busan Cinema Centre

The city supports the festival and the festival supports the city, it’s a symbiotic relationship and it’s been a happy marriage for many years. That is until last year.

Three events occurred in 2014 that are coming to a head now.

In April last year South Korea was in mourning after the ferry Sewol sank. Over three hundred people drowned, most of them school children on holiday excursion. Reeling in the tragedy the Nation came to a stand still and questions were asked of how and why this could happen. The new government of President Park came under the spotlight and many started to blame it’s inefficiencies and incompetency for the high death toll. Many questions have remained unanswered through stonewalling and blame shifting.

 

The second event was that, not surprisingly in a democratic country, this became ripe subject matter for a documentary and one was made that concentrated on just one aspect of the botched recue efforts. It’s subject and title was ‘Diving Bell’ (The Truth Shall Not Sink With Sewol) and it focused on the media coverage, the distortion of truth, the delays in deployment and the absolute hopelessness of the situation. It wasn’t entirely about finger pointing at the government but they didn’t come out of it looking too pretty. Six months later the documentary was scheduled to premier at BIFF, quite a coup for the festival, as this was politically hot! Controversial was an understatement.

The topsy turvy, it works both ways 'Diving Bell' BIFF Poster

 The third event was that 2014 saw a new mayor of Busan. Suh Byung-soo took up office in the July after ten years of his predecessor Hur Nam-sik. Normally the city left the programmers alone to do their job but before the festival started in October Lee Yong-kwan received a request from the City of Busan to withdraw the documentary from the festival. One could only speculate as to why ???

But as a true champion of the festival he declined the request and the documentary got two screenings, one with a Q&A session. This delighted the filmmaking community and cinephiles but city hall was not amused.

Protesters outside the Busan Cinema Centre getting the attention of the media prior to the first ‘Diving Bell’ screening. BIFF 2014

Both screenings were sold out and the Q&A was jam packed with media.

Diving Bell’  Producer & Director Q&A session post screening BIFF 2014

Photo: Brayden Alden

Fast forward to now, it’s pay back time.

City of Busan officials met with Lee Yong-kwan and requested he step down as Director of BIFF even though he has a bit more than a year left on his contract. Lee was a founding member of the festival in 1996, has been a programmer, a deputy director and has been its director since 2011.

The reasons for their request? The evolution of the festival, apparently there has also been some dissatisfaction from the city with how the festival has been run and how the budget has been spent.

Whatever the real reason is the filmmaking community is well alarmed and there is talk about boycotting the 2015 20^th edition of BIFF. There is lots of talk and dismay about politics getting involved with the festival’s programing but there is not a real lot of surprise. Critics of the current political regime of South Korea are becoming ever increasingly cynical.

Niu Doze Chen-Zer (Paradise in Service) & Lee Yong-kwan at last year's opening ceremony

The good news is that again in true champion style Lee Yong-kwan has refused to resign and BIFF management is bewildered that they are yet to be consulted on what is ultimately their responsibility and their decision regardless of where there support is coming from. This will be an ever evolving story because these just feel like opening shots of something that has the potential to be much bigger with ramifications to be felt far and wide.

Way beyond the confines of South Korea’s second largest metropolis.