Bucheon Choice: Features
Bucheon Choice is the official international competition section and the signature of the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN). It introduces films with unique styles, genre experiments and developments – as well as a new world view that goes beyond imagination. A collection of unorthodox ideas challenging traditional genre films are captured in this section.
2019 BIFAN's NAFF It Project and Sitges Pitchbox Award Winner, Amanda Nell Eu, finally completed her debut film, Tiger Stripes, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. The film received rave reviews and won the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival Critics' Week. Oe Takamasa, well known for writing Drive My Car (2021), explores the psychology of the masses who worship the digital world to the point of risking their lives in his film Whale Bones with excellent storytelling. Kai Ko made his first feature debut with a screenplay by Giddens Ko, Bad Education, a black comedy about a mischievous bet between three friends upon graduation, highlighted by the lively performances of three young actors. Disorder, directed by newcomer Batdelger Byambasuren, promises a bright future for Mongolian genre cinema.
Restore Point, premiering at BIFAN, shows high level of production exploring the fascinating sci-fi imagination of regenerative technology, which can revive people after unfortunate accidents in the turbulent year 2038. The story revolves around the thrilling hunt for a serial killer, offering a fresh perspective. Sorcery, based on true events in 19th-century Chile, takes place on a remote island and follows a young girl's journey seeking revenge through the power of magic. This film combines elements of folk horror with thought-provoking social commentary, shedding light on the dark side of a violent local community. Superposition is about two seemingly identical couples living as neighbors, with a backdrop of a secluded forest village. It is a psychological thriller that explores the complexities of modern ego, desire, and anxiety marking a significant milestone in the rise of Nordic genre cinema.
English-language films in this year's Bucheon Choice cover the broad spectrum of genre films shown from the unique eyes of new directors’ debut features. They are led by The Artifice Girl, a clever sci-fi film with thoughtful dialogues that sends the warning on how we should deal with AI, and The Seeding, a slow-burn shocker that directly tackles our fear of isolation and toxic masculinity. Also included is You Will Never Find Me, a feature debut jam from Australia that will keep the audience suspenseful until its shocking end.