The Busan International Film Festival capped its landmark 30th edition Friday night with a closing ceremony at the gleaming, minimalist Busan Cinema Center, unveiling the winners of its inaugural main competition section, the Busan Award, alongside the festival’s signature honors, the New Currents, BIFF Mecenat and Sonje Awards.
The newly launched Busan Award — the festival’s first-ever official competition — crowned veteran Chinese-Korean auteur Zhang Lu’s Gloaming in Luomu as best film. The drama, set in a remote borderland town, traces the lives of locals grappling with history’s lingering shadows, blending Zhang’s trademark lyricism with a stark social critique.
Taiwanese screen star-turned-first-time filmmaker Shu Qi took home the best director honors for Girl, a coming-of-age story about a teenager dreaming of escape from an abusive home life in 1980s Taipei. Deeply inspired by Shu’s real-life youth, the film was over a decade in the making. Korean director Han Chang-lok’s Funky Freaky Freaks, a darkly comic ensemble about misfits on the fringes of Seoul society, received the special jury award.
The acting honors were split: rising Korean star Lee Jiwon earned best actor for his breakout turn in En Route To, while Japanese talents Kitamura Takumi, Ayano Go and Hayashi Yuta shared the prize for their collective performance in Baka’s Identity. The artistic contribution award went to Chinese production designers Tu Nan and Liu Qiang for their work on Bi Gan’s arthouse stunner Resurrection.
The New Currents Award — long considered BIFF’s signature competition for emerging Asian auteurs — was awarded to Korean director Yoo Jaein’s En Route To, solidifying the film’s breakout status.
In the documentary field, the BIFF Mecenat Award, which recognizes outstanding Asian non-fiction features, went to Raining Dust by Korea’s Ju Romi and Kim Taeil, and Singing Wings by Kurdish-Iranian filmmaker Hemen Khaledi. A special mention was given to Relay Race by Korea’s Ko Hyoju.
The Sonje Awards, presented to the best Asian short films, honored Kim Sang-yun’s It Sounds Louder on Rainy Days (Korea) and Wang Han-xuan’s Delay (China), with a special mention for Kawazoe Aya’s Interface (Japan).
This year’s main competition jury was presided over by celebrated Korean auteur Na Hong-jin (The Wailing), joined by Hong Kong screen legend Tony Leung Ka-fai, Indian filmmaker and actress Nandita Das, Iranian director Marziyeh Meshkini, Korean-American filmmaker Kogonada, Indonesian producer Yulia Evina Bhara, and Korean actress Han Hyo-joo.
The 30th BIFF ran Sept. 17–26, screening more than 200 films from across the globe and drawing international industry leaders and audiences to East Asia’s largest film festival hub.
Full List of Winners
Busan Award – Best Film
Gloaming in Luomu, dir. Zhang Lu (China)
Busan Award – Best Director
Girl, dir. Shu Qi (Taiwan)
Busan Award – Special Jury Award
Funky Freaky Freaks, dir. Han Chang-lok (Korea)
Busan Award – Best Actor
Lee Jiwon – En Route To (Korea)
Kitamura Takumi, Ayano Go, Hayashi Yuta – Baka’s Identity (Japan)
Busan Award – Artistic Contribution Award
Resurrection, prod. design Liu Qiang and Tu Nan (China)
New Currents Award
En Route To, dir. Yoo Jaein (Korea)
BIFF Mecenat Award (Korea)
Raining Dust, dir. Ju Romi, Kim Taeil (Korea)
BIFF Mecenat Award (Asia)
Singing Wings, dir. Hemen Khaledi (Iran/Kurdistan)
BIFF Mecenat Award (Special Mention)
Relay Race, dir. Ko Hyoju (Korea)
Sonje Award (Korea)
It Sounds Louder on Rainy Days, dir. Kim Sang-yun (Korea)
Sonje Award (Asia)
Delay, dir. Wang Han-xuan (China)
Sonje Award (Special Mention)
Interface, dir. Kawazoe Aya (Japan)
