Marking Its 30th Edition, BIFAN Commences Full-Scale AI Film Ecosystem

- Evolving from AI to AX, BIFAN launches diverse initiatives to industrialize AI cinema
- Signing MOUs with 5 enterprises and academic institutions to bear fruits for continuous AX

The 30th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (Festival Director SHIN Chul, hereafter BIFAN) is evolving from AI to AX (AI Transformation). With the production and support of AI films gaining substantial traction this year, alongside ongoing efforts to implement AX across the entire Korean film industry for technological refinement, BIFAN’s dedication to AX transition and generating tangible revenue for AI creators is bearing remarkable fruits. These include expanding award categories for AI films, organizing competitions, discovery of paid screening titles on distribution platforms, intern programs for AI talent, and expanding community engagement.

1. BIFAN Expands International Competition for ‘Bucheon Choice AI Films,’ Newly Launching New Wave Award and AIMMOVIE Audience Award
BIFAN is partnering with Tamar Edge Limited (CEO Klaus HU), a Hong Kong-based company that operates the global AI video platform ‘TapNow,’ to newly establish the ‘TapNow New Wave Award.’ This award will be presented to one outstanding project selected from the international competition section, ‘Bucheon Choice: AI Films,’ for pioneering new cinematic languages.
Tamar Edge will provide cash prizes and credits for this newly established award, while supporting the Fantastic Film School: Univ. program and AI creators' networking events. Furthermore, they plan to discover emerging talents through upcoming joint project calls, collaborating closely with BIFAN to build a sustainable AI film ecosystem.

2. Launching Competitions for AI Film Industrialization: Short-form Film Screenplays & Distribution Support for Completed Works
BIFAN, in collaboration with The Manta Story (CEO JEONG Hwang-su)—the VFX post-production studio behind film production sites such as Train to Busan and the Netflix series Hellbound—will host the ‘AI Short-form Film & Drama Screenplay Competition’ year-round. The Manta Story will join forces with BIFAN to establish a robust pipeline covering investment, production, and distribution, ensuring that discovered talents and stories develop into commercially viable short-form contents. Additionally, an institution-linked internship program will be offered to outstanding individuals trained at the Bucheon AI Video Education Center to support creators.

Concurrently, BIFAN will launch the “AI Film Distribution Support Competition” for completed AI films, distinguishing itself from conventional screenplay or production competitions. The initiative aims to select outstanding projects created by domestic and international AI film production studios to facilitate their theatrical releases. The call for entries will open during the festival period, and short- and feature-length AI films selected through the evaluation process in the second half of this year will hit theaters across major multiplexes including CGV, Lotte Cinema, and Megabox via specialized film distributor Studio The J (CEO CHO Seong-jin). For this purpose, international competition films, non-competition titles, production support projects, and outstanding AI films from the Bucheon AI Video Education Center showcased during the 30th BIFAN will be meticulously curated to drive theatrical screenings in the latter half of the year.

3. Paid Online AI Video Platform: Seeking Win-Win Programs for Creators
Studio AIM (CEO LEE Mu-shin), which is developing a specialized AI video content platform based on state-of-the-art technologies, will provide support for newly discovered domestic and international talents via BIFAN to continue their creative endeavors within its platform ecosystem. This initiative aims to discover excellent works and construct a mutually beneficial ecosystem where AI creators can earn legitimate revenues.
Furthermore, Studio AIM, located in Bucheon, will implement an internship program selecting graduates and top talents from the Bucheon AI Video Education Center—a local educational infrastructure. Selected individuals will be provided with hands-on field experience and nurturing opportunities.
In tandem, Studio AIM will begin sponsoring the ‘AIMMOVIE Audience Award,’ presented to the project that receives the most love from audiences among the ‘Bucheon Choice: AI Films’ selections.

4. Operating Internship Programs: Expanding Startups, Employment, and Business Opportunities
The internship program targeting graduates of the Bucheon AI Video Education Center initially commenced in 2025 with Studio Freewillow (CEO KWON Han-seul). This year, the initiative has successfully expanded its scope by bringing in AI studios such as The Manta Story and Studio AIM.
On Tuesday, June 23, BIFAN signed a cooperation agreement with local academic institutions, including Yuhan University, to operate custom, field-oriented professional training courses designed to nurture future creators equipped with both technical expertise and directorial skills. BIFAN plans to sustain this win-win cooperation for local cultural and industrial growth, enabling top talents to secure practical career opportunities such as internships or long-term employment.
To expand showcases and business opportunities for AI creators, BIFAN plans to progressively increase corporate participation and beneficiaries through the ‘Bucheon AI Contents Summit,’ project pitching events, demo days, and active creator community meetups.

5. Invigorating the Community: Launch of the ‘Modu's Gihwaktan’ Spinoff
‘Modu's Gihwaktan’ (https://open.kakao.com/o/gQ1huzAi) is a participatory community designed to test new possibilities of BIFAN's AX projects, welcoming any citizens nationwide interested in AI and AX.
AI film creators and AX planners from various industrial sectors will gather here to co-create AI-based video productions, collaborate on business planning, share technology trends, start projects freely, and share insights. Through diverse collaborative activities like Vibe Coding, they will collectively contribute to building a data- and AI-driven BIFAN AX ecosystem.

SHIN Chul, Festival Director of BIFAN, stated, “Thanks to the collaboration of top-tier domestic and international AI partners who joined forces this year, we have established a comprehensive foundation that encompasses all stages of AI filmmaking—unifying talent cultivation, employment linkages, project calls, and distribution pipelines which were previously handled separately.” He added, “Through this system established by BIFAN, we will provide substantial and unsparing support to ensure that AI creators do not merely stop at receiving one-time prize money, but can stand independently and debut as directors or producers.” He also commented on the screening held upon concluding the Fantastic Film School: Univ. course, saying, “It was an astonishing moment where it felt like AI cinema has reached its tipping point,” while vowing to closely focus on protecting the rights of creators.

Highly anticipated for the full-scale operation of the AI value chain, the 30th BIFAN will run from Thursday, July 2 to Sunday, July 12 throughout Bucheon City.

¡á Inquiry regarding AI Programs
YANG-IL CHO, AI Specialist Member (+82-10-6777-4216)

¡á Festival Overview
Title : 30th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival
Date : July 2 (Thu) – July 12 (Sun), 2026 (11 days)
Type : Non-competitive international film festival introducing partial competition
Scale : 321 films from 50 countries (170 features, 85 shorts, 38 AI films, 28 XR contents)
Main Venue : Bucheon City Hall, Korean Manhwa Museum, CGV Sopung, LOTTE Cinema Bucheon, Bucheon Art Bunker B39, Bucheon Astronomical Science Museum

Please contact the BIFAN PR Team for more details.
E. press@bifan.kr | HP. +82-10-7367-6313 | Tel. +82-32-327-6313(135, 140)

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