BIFAN 2025
Bucheon Choice & Korean Fantastic: Shorts Winners
Bucheon Choice: Shorts
Best Short Film | A Brighter Summer Day for the Lady Avengers (Directed by Birdy Wei-ting HUNG)
Jury’s Choice | Ever After (Directed by Helen HIDEKO)
¡Ø Special Mention | Sisowath Quay (Directed by Stéphanie LANSAQUE, François LEROY)
Audience Award | Gynoid (Directed by Celia GALAN)
Korean Fantastic: Shorts
Best Korean Short Film | Tongue (Directed by LIM Da-seul)
¡Ø Special Mention | Pink Monkey (Directed by WOO Jongbin)
Audience Award | Floor (Directed by JO Bareun)
Commentary
At the 29th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, 23 shorts competed across two sections. Each film shone with its own distinctive color and charm, making it impossible to overlook any of them. Rather than ranking the films, the jury strived to discover the unique virtues and potential of every entry. We hope that sincerity is conveyed to the audience. Watching all 23 films was both a challenge and a joy. The journey of immersing ourselves in the questions posed by each work has left an indelible mark on us.
We express our sincere gratitude to the preliminary jury—SEO Bohyung, AHN Byungrae, LIM Ohjeong, CHA Hanbi, Kristin JI—for their dedication, and we extend our deep respect to all directors, actors, and staff who courageously took part in the competition. Congratulations to those honored with awards.
Bucheon Choice: Shorts
This year’s Bucheon Choice shorts were carefully curated with non-overlapping genres, tones, and styles, demonstrating BIFAN's core values—imagination and originality—in diverse forms.
¢º Best Short Film | A Brighter Summer Day for the Lady Avengers (Directed by Birdy Wei-ting HUNG)
This film is an exceptional work that brings together the sensibilities of Edward Yang’s A Brighter Summer Day and Dario Argento’s Deep Red through a uniquely structured approach. With the unique texture of 16mm film, meticulous mise-en-scène, and a delicate emotional line surrounding repression and desire, all three jurors unanimously selected it as the Best International Short Film.
¢º Jury’s Choice | Ever After (Directed by Helen HIDEKO)
A lyrical and emotionally resonant work portraying a girl from an immigrant family, who navigates anxiety, isolation, and inner fantasy during adolescence. With elements of fairy-tale fantasy, the film beautifully visualizes themes of alienation and vulnerability. The jury especially praised the lead performance by Rada Rae for her nuanced portrayal of the protagonist’s emotional depth.
¡Ø Special Mention | Sisowath Quay (Directed by Stéphanie LANSAQUE, François LEROY)
This experimental piece boldly combines puppet theater and horror, moving beyond traditional animation. It was commended as "a work that daringly expands the expressive realm of animation," presenting new possibilities for imaginative genre blending.
¢º Audience Award | Gynoid (Directed by Celia GALAN)
Korean Fantastic: Shorts
The Korean Fantastic shorts section showcased strong dramaturgy and aesthetic experimentation—films grounded in BIFAN’s unique genre identity.
¢º Best Korean Short Film | Tongue (Directed by LIM Da-seul)
Centering on a sudden incident between a couple, this film unfolds in an unpredictable and emotionally intense manner. Initially irritating, it soon surprises the viewer and evokes tension, relief, and fear. It was described as a “surreal yet visually striking piece” that amplifies its emotional tone.
¡Ø Special Mention | Pink Monkey (Directed by WOO Jongbin)
This animation impressed with its bold formal experimentation. The jury praised it as “a daring attempt deserving of encouragement.”
¢º Audience Award | Floor (Directed by JO Bareun)