The Cannes ¡®Fantastic 7¡¯ is a program to revitalize the fantastic genre film industry that started at the Cannes Film Festival¡¯ Film Market in 2019. Hosted by the Cannes Film Festival/Cannes Film Market and the Sitges - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia seven international fantastic film festivals representing the world participate every year. The goal is to build a mutual network among the festivals, nurture international emerging talents, and to discover and develop new fantastic genre films.
BIFAN enjoyed the honor to be part of the Fantastic 7 since its launch in 2019. This year, it was named alongside the Sitges Film Festival, South by Southwest, Guadalajara Film Festival, Cairo Film Festival, New Zealand Film Festival, and Tallinn Black Knights Film Festival. Along with BIFAN the Sitges Film Festival, South by Southwest, Guadalajara Film Festival, Cairo Film Festival, and the New Zealand Film Festival will be part the Fantastic 7¡¯ this year.
BIFAN¡¯s selection for the fifth Fantastic 7 this year is the project ¡®The Fin¡¯ by director Park Syeyeong and producer by Oh Heejung. Director Park Syeyeong first gained attention with his previous movie The Fifth Thoracic Vertebra that premiered at BIFAN last year and won three awards, including the Korean Fantastic Best Director, the Korean Fantastic Audience Award, and the Nonghyup Award. It also received a special mention of the jury at the Underground section of the 26th Fantasia International Film Festival (Canada). In addition, it was officially invited to various other film festivals like the Berlinale Critic's Week, the Sitges Film Festival, the Sarajevo Film Festival, the Torino Film Festival, the Film Fest Gent, and the Seoul Independent Film Festival. ¡°The Fin" is a science fiction and disaster film project set in a future Korea devastated by natural disasters and environmental pollution. It tells the story of the Omega people, a hybrid of humans and fish due to mutation that are treated as slaves by humans, reflecting about the appearance of hatred in our society today. ¡®The Fin¡¯s Director Park Se-young and producer Oh Hee-jung were officially invited to the Fantastic 7 pitching and networking program ¡®Spot The Composer¡¯ and ¡®Fantastic Fanatics Mixer¡¯ held off- and online during the Cannes Film Market this year to showcase the excellence of Korean genre film projects to film professionals from around the world.