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 20th 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.
