Home · Entertainment · Sep 16 archive
Busan International Film Festival Names Jury Members for Awards
Confirmed
In Short: The 31st Busan International Film Festival has finalized its jury members for four award categories.
The 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has finalized its jury members for four award categories, including the BIFF Mecenat Award, the Sonje Award, the Netpac Award, and the Fipresci Award. According to Variety, the Sonje Award, which honors an outstanding Korean or Asian short film in the Wide Angle Competition, will be judged by Anuparna Roy, Abinash Bikram Shah, and Lee Ranhee.
The Netpac Award, presented by the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema to an outstanding film in the Vision section, will be judged by Nina Kochelyaeva, Matthew Poon, and Lee Dongha. Kochelyaeva, who heads the Department for the Development and Approbation of Film Education Methods at VGIK, the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, has served on selection committees at multiple festivals. Poon, senior project manager at HKIFF Industry, has appeared as a juror and speaker across international festivals and markets. Lee, CEO of Redpeter Films, has produced several notable films and is involved in the Producers Guild of Korea.
In a related event, the Spanish Film Academy has selected Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s breakout Cannes title "La Bola Negra" as Spain’s entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards. The film has been acquired for various regions, including Israel, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, and Airlines.
In other news, the CBGB Festival is returning to Under the K Bridge Park for its second year, with a lineup that includes Smith, Morrissey, the Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter, Interpol, Bikini Kill, the Buzzcocks, Circle Jerks, and Mannequin Pussy. According to Rolling Stone, the festival aims to preserve the legacy of CBGB, a legendary club on New York’s Lower East Side, which has since been gentrified and is now a John Varvatos clothing store.
What's confirmed
- The 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has finalized its jury members for four award categories, including the BIFF Mecenat Award, the Sonje Award, the Netpac Award, and the Fipresci Award. According to Variety, the Sonje Award, which honors an outstanding Korean or Asian short film in the Wide Angle Competition, will be judged by Anuparna Roy, Abinash Bikram Shah, and Lee Ranhee.
- The Netpac Award, presented by the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema to an outstanding film in the Vision section, will be judged by Nina Kochelyaeva, Matthew Poon, and Lee Dongha. Kochelyaeva, who heads the Department for the Development and Approbation of Film Education Methods at VGIK, the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, has served on selection committees at multiple festivals. Poon, senior project manager at HKIFF Industry, has appeared as a juror and speaker across international festivals and markets. Lee, CEO of Redpeter Films, has produced several notable films and is involved in the Producers Guild of Korea.
- In a related event, the Spanish Film Academy has selected Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s breakout Cannes title "La Bola Negra" as Spain’s entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards. The film has been acquired for various regions, including Israel, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, and Airlines.
- In other news, the CBGB Festival is returning to Under the K Bridge Park for its second year, with a lineup that includes Smith, Morrissey, the Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter, Interpol, Bikini Kill, the Buzzcocks, Circle Jerks, and Mannequin Pussy. According to Rolling Stone, the festival aims to preserve the legacy of CBGB, a legendary club on New York’s Lower East Side, which has since been gentrified and is now a John Varvatos clothing store.
What's still developing
- La Bola Negra is an original film by Movistar Plus+ Film and Suma Content Films in co-production with El Deseo and Le Pacte, with the participation of Atresmedia.
- “It’s all gentrified. The rents are through the roof. Is it Brooklyn. Queens. Is Bensonhurst Queens the new creative frontier. In the interim we’re saying, ‘Okay. Listen, what we stood for and what CBs stood for is great live music, what’s new, what is happening now. Let’s try to do it under the guise of a festival until we find a location.'” We want to hear it.
- But Iggy Pop and Jack White were still booked to close out the inaugural CBGB Festival last year.
- Roy’s “Songs of Forgotten Trees” (2025) and “Lovers in the Blue Night” (2026) both debuted in the Horizons section at Venice and won awards.