The Bucheon International Fantastic Festival (hereafter BIFAN, Festival Director SHIN Chul) is now accepting submissions of shorts and feature films from all over the world for its 25th edition in 2021. The deadline for submissions is April 30 (Fri.) at 24:00 KST.
Submitted projects must have been produced after January 1, 2020. The running time for shorts is less than 60 minutes, while the running time for features is 60 minutes or more. To qualify, the submission must be a film that has not been screened in South Korea. In addition to genre films, any film that presents an expansive theme and diverse vision is eligible to submit to the festival.
Submissions are accepted at BIFAN’s online entry site (http://entry.bifan.kr/). Inquiries can be made by phone (032-327-6313 / ext. 132) or e-mail (Features: films@bifan.kr / Shorts: short@bifan.kr). Filmmakers of the selected shorts and features will be contacted individually by the end of May.
¤ÓThe winners of the best picture awards for the 24th BIFAN’s international and Korean competition sections thank BIFAN and
audiences at the awards ceremony. (clockwise from top left) director Katrin GEBBE of Pelican Blood,
winner of the 24th BIFAN Best of Bucheon award; director KIM Lokkyoung of Festival,
winner of the Techcross Environmental Services Best Korean Fantastic Film award;
director Pouya AMINPOURI of The Third Person, winner of Best Short Film award;
director HONG Seongyoon of Digital Video Editing with Adobe Premiere Pro: The Real-World Guide to Set Up and Workflow,
winner of the Best Korean Short Film award¤Ó
Films chosen by the program selection committee will be officially screened in one of the following categories: ¡ãBucheon Choice ¡ãKorean Fantastic ¡ãWorld Fantastic Red ¡ãWorld Fantastic Blue ¡ãFamily Zone ¡ãForbidden Zone ¡ãFantastic Short Films ¡ãSpecial Programs. The films for each category will be determined by the BIFAN selection committee. The winners of the 16 categories will receive a trophy and a cash prize.
The 2020 BIFAN (July 9 – 16) garnered attention for becoming the first hybrid international film festival by linking offline, online, and mobile platforms. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all films were screened in one offline theater, and strict social distancing and preventative measures were implemented. To keep safety a top priority, GVs and VR cinema exhibitions, project market meetings, Fantastic Film School lectures and master classes, live performances, conferences, and parties were all held as contact-free events. In addition, BIFAN held a highly praised experiential exhibition at Incheon International Airport (November 24 – December 13) that presented 26 XR and VR films from the Beyond Reality section, which weren’t able to be shown while the festival was in session. The 25th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival is scheduled to be held in July 2021.