News

On June 10, the official press conference of the 29th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival officially kicked off the 29th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (July 3~July 13).

Festival Director Shin Chul declared that Bifan has entered “AI Step 2” this year, following last year’s initial stage, and shared an ambitious goal to train 10,000 filmmakers over the next five years. Director Shin also referenced a famous remark by German filmmaker Werner Herzog, who once said, “Even after 4,500 years, computers will not make better films than I do.” He continued, “We trained an AI model using Herzog’s scripts, interviews, and other materials. The result was a screenplay titled “About a Hero”, which has been selected as this year’s Opening Film at Bifan.”

Jongsuk Thomas Nam (Programmer), Park Boram (Xr Curator), Chang Mihee (Organizing Chairperson), Shin Chul (Festival Director), Martin Lee, Jin Park, Kani Kim (Programmers)

The programmers took the stage to...

As we mentioned many times before, Rotterdam is the best international festival in Europe in terms of Asian selection, and the programmers did not disappoint once more. Even more so since the selection stays, thankfully, away from the stereotypes about what an Asian film is or it should be. Furthermore, the focus in S/Se Asia was definitely once more rewarding, with the emphasis in Indonesia obviously being indicative of how close IFFR is following what is happening in the region. The presence of the likes of Miike and Toyoda, along with the ‘film of the year’ “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” covered the Far East.

Here is the sum of our articles for IFFR 2025.

1. Film Review: Kajolrekha (2024) by Giasuddin Selim

Though highly watchable, the movie ultimately lacks the social realism or revolutionary edge that might make for an interesting contemporary adaptation of this ancient tale. Instead, the director has made a comfortable,...

Over the last few years, Chinese and Hong Kong films have delved into a small but noticeable trend of incorporating terror in locations that were originally places of communal experiences. Films like “Back Home” and “Yum Investigation” started the trend and it extends now to director Jack Lai‘s feature-film debut “Possession Street.” The incorporation of zombie horror and more traditional Taoist elements creates a thrilling survival horror-inspired feature now screening at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Possession Street is screening at International Film Festival Rotterdam

Once a popular commercial center, Golden Treasure Plaza is now a rundown mall marked for demolition. Among its last remaining shopkeepers is Sam (Philip Keung), an injured stuntman who runs a DVD store with virtually no clientele. One fateful day, when Sam’s beloved daughter Yan (Candy Wong) comes for a long overdue visit, a storeowner accidentally breaches a supernatural barrier in the mall’s basement.

Hong Kong-based Mei Ah Entertainment brings a slate of new projects to Filmart, featuring stars including Shen Teng, Ma Li and Ekin Cheng.

Untouchable is a $23m crime action thriller set in Macau about a boxing champion-turned-lawyer who can’t stay away from the underworld. This marks the first action film of box-office sensation Shen, known for his comic roles in films such as Goodbye Mr. Loser.

Zhang Yuqi (The Mermaid) co-stars in the film directed by Wang Daqing (One Day) and produced by Shang Ke (Let The Bullets Fly).

Previously known as Twin Blades, Brave Girls pairs leading Chinese...