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Bifan has established itself as one of the most significant festivals in Asia regarding the genre cinema of the region, with their program always being quite interesting through its focus on Korean cinema firstly and then of Japan and the rest of the region, along with a number of international titles. As such, the fact that the local industry is in trouble was more than evident this year, when genre movies in particular suffered, mostly due to issues with writing and also due to financial ones. It is true that Korea's top filmmakers are at the top of the world, but it has become obvious that below that level, the quality drops significantly.

Nevertheless, the aforementioned does not mean that the programs was without a number of gems. “Iron Mask” about a kendo athlete carrying a trauma, “Her Hobby” with its transition from a family drama to a horror and...

While not the first Korean film about boxing, director Ryoo Seung-wan would make the definitive Korean production on the sport in 2005 with his fifth film “Crying Fist”, with a story that takes the much familiar sports drama and puts a unique, fresh spin to it that is yet to be replicated as successfully till date.

“Crying Fist” follows two parallel storylines. The first one is of Kang Tae-shik, a silver medallist boxer in the past who has, since winning at the Asian Games, not been able to keep a steady job and is down on his luck. His wife decides to separate, taking his son with him, leaving Tae-shik homeless and having to crash in a dingy shed. Money is scarce to come by and his friend who has borrowed a large sum refuses to pay and thus, Tae-shik bites down on his ego and decides to busk in the streets,...