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The London East Asia Film festival came to a close on Sunday night with the UK premiere of Concrete Utopia, Korea’s entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 2024 Oscars. After the event’s Best Film award went to Iron Mask, by Kim Sung Hwan, artistic director Hyejung Jeon presented its Rising Star award to Hong Xa-bin for his performance in Kim Chang-hoon’s Hopeless and its Best Actor award to Concrete Utopia’s Park Bo-young.

Actress Park later returned after the film for a Q&a with director, Um Tae-hwa, to discuss the film’s themes of survival, which suddenly seemed shockingly relevant after recent events in Ukraine and Israel/Gaza.

Starring Lee Byung-hun, Um’s film is a dystopian fable that recalls British writer J.G. Ballard in its depiction of a South Korean high-rise that is somehow left unscathed after a terrifying earthquake rips through the country.

Leaff 2023 brings a diverse programme from East and Southeast Asia, including international and UK premieres. This year, our programme will be showcased through these strands: Retrospective: Director Chung Ji-Young, Leaff’s Official Selection, Competition, Stories of Women, Halloween Horror Special, Cherish the World, Lgbtqia+ and Classics Restored. The festival will open and close at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square. Other screenings and Q&As will take place at Odeon Luxe West End and the Cinema at Selfridges.

For more information about tickets, please visit: https://www.leaff.org.uk/2023tickets

Here is the full programme:

Opening Gala

The Boys + Q&a with the Director | Dir. Chung Ji-Young | Korea | 2023 | 124 mins

Closing Gala

Concrete Utopia + Q&a with Director, Actor Park Bo-young | Dir. Um Tae-hwa | Korea | 2023 | 130 mins

Leaff Official Selection

The Breaking Ice | Dir. Anthony Chen | Singapore | 2022 | 97 mins

Dan Dan | Dir. Song Chuan | China | 2022 | 103 mins

Hidden Blade | Dir. Cheng Er | Hong Kong | 2022 | 128 mins

In Broad Daylight | Dir.

On Friday, July 7th, the 27th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival announced the winners of this year's feature competition section during the closing ceremony at the 500 plus seats Main Theater inside Bucheon City Hall. The ceremony was followed by the screening of the festival's closing film “Sana” by Japanese horror master Shimizu Takashi, a world premiere.

Bucheon Choice: Features

Best of Bucheon Krw – 20,000,000

Sorcery by Christopher Murray

Best Director Choice – Krw 5,000,000

Superposition by Karoline Lyngbye

Jury's Choice – Krw 5,000,000

The Artifice Girl by Franklin Ritch

Audience Award

The Artifice Girl by Franklin Ritch

Korean Fantastic: Features

Best Korean Fantastic Film – 20,000,000

Iron Mask by Kim Sung Hwan

Film Review: Iron Mask (2023) by Kim Sung-hwan

Korean Fantastic Best Director – Krw 5,000,000

Risk Society by Kim Byung Jun

Film Review: Risk Society (2023) by Kim Byung-jun

Korean Fantastic Actors:

Jung E-seo in Her Hobby

Jang Seongbeom in Abroad

Korean Fantastic Audience Award

Abroad by Giovanni Fumu...

The festival’s closing film was the world premiere of Takashi Shimizu’s ‘Sana’.

Christopher Murray’s witchcraft and revenge thriller Sorcery won the top prize at the 27th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (Bifan) tonight (July 7) in South Korea.

Onstage at the closing ceremony at Bucheon City Hall, the Chilean filmmaker dedicated the Best of Bucheon award for his folk horror film “to the people from the island where the film was shot – that is Chiloe - because it’s a story that is based on their story,” noting “the people from the island also participated in the film...

The great Choi Min-sik was on hand to take early headlines at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan).

Described somewhat blandly as “a highly reliable performer” by the Korean Film Council (Kofic), Choi is not only the star of Korea’s top grossing film of all time “The Admiral: Roaring Currents,” he continues to be available for work of all different levels. He appears in no less than ten titles that played at the festival this week.

The festival also does reliable — in its own way – as it plays up to its “stay strange” mantra, cooperates with other festivals of a similar fantasy leaning and sidesteps the political infighting that currently bedevil Korea’s best-known festivals.

The selection runs from a documentary about Korean reunification to Anurag Kashyap’s “Kennedy,” a crime drama in which former adult movie star Sunny Leone gets to show that she has evolved into a versatile and confident actor.

Kendo, known as “Gumdo” in Korea may not have the impact or the legacy it has in Japan but is still quite popular, while also finding its place occasionally in cinema, in movies like “The Divine Weapon” and “Shadowless Sword”. Kim Sung-hwan, however, in his feature debut, comes up with a movie that focuses exclusively on the particular sport, although through an approach that is also intensely dramatic.

“Iron Mask” is screening at Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival

Jae-woo has been selected to participate in the training camp of the national kendo team, which will determine which athletes will constitute it. The group of participants includes members of varying ages as in the case of Jun-hee, a middle aged father of two who has undergone the process a number of times, but always failed. The man immediately tries to become friends with Jae-woo and even mentor him to a point,...

MIFFest to open with the world premiere of ‘Eraser’.

Acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To has been named jury president of the 6th Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest), which will also honour Taiwanese actress Sylvia Chang with a lifetime achievement award.

To will chair the festival’s competition jury, which also includes Vietnamese actress Truong Ngoc Anh, Japanese filmmaker Ryuichi Hiroki, Malaysian star Zizan Razak and Singaporean director Eric Khoo. To is a leading director of films such as Breaking News, Election, Exiled, Mad Detective and Drug War, and sat on the Berlinale international competition jury earlier this year.

MIFFest...

MIFFest to open with the world premiere of ‘Eraser’.

Acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To has been named jury president of the 6th Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest), which will also honour Taiwanese actress Sylvia Chang with a lifetime achievement award.

To will chair the festival’s competition jury, which also includes Vietnamese actress Truong Ngoc Anh, Japanese filmmaker Ryuichi Hiroki, Malaysian star Zizan Razak and Singaporean director Eric Khoo. To is a leading director of films such as Breaking News, Election, Exiled, Mad Detective and Drug War, and sat on the Berlinale international competition jury earlier this year.

MIFFest...