BUSAN 2011 NEW BIFF DIRECTOR Flying solo
BIFF director Lee Yong-kwan, previously co-director with Kim Dong-ho, talks to Jean Noh about his new role and plans for the festival
T
aking the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) director- ship on his own for the first time
this year, Lee Yong-kwan’s goal is to run a festival that befits and makes the most of the new Busan Cinema Center. One of the founding members of the
Busan (then Pusan) International Film Festival, Lee was the senior program- mer from 1996-99 and deputy director from 2000-06. From 2007, he shared the fest ival directorship with renowned founding director Kim Dong-ho (now honorary director) and put in place a key team of program- mers and deputies ahead of Kim’s retirement last year. Lee is also a professor at Chung-Ang
University and was vice-chairman of the Korean Film Council from 1999- 2002 and head of the Cinematheque Busan from 2002-04.
What kind of changes are you planning to bring to the film
festival? LYK With the opening of the Busan Cinema Center, we have to start think- ing not just about [a] 10-day film festi- val, but how to best serve cultural artists all year round. Also, if previ- ously we were focused on cinema cul- ture and having a film market, now we also have to become more ref lective about film theory and creating aca- demic discourse, as with the Busan Cinema Forum [an international film scholars’ conference].
Will you travel as much as Kim Dong-ho?
LYK So far this year, I’ve been to Rot- terdam, Berlin, Hong Kong, Cannes and Okinawa with honorary festival director Kim Dong-ho. It’s been a suc- cession process and I’ve learned a lot. Mr Kim was so thorough in establish- ing so many [relationships], and we still have founding members working at the festival. Thanks to the solid foundations we have in certain areas, our programmers are able to do the legwork and expand further into newer areas.
n 4 Screen International October 2011
What has been your biggest challenge this year?
LYK Kim Dong-ho’s presence was always like a great mountain, and so there will be comparisons made. The [local] media was amicable towards him personally, but they will probably become considerably cooler and more objective this year. I’m not too con- cerned, but it is something we will have to withstand. The construction [of the Busan Cinema Center] has been delayed so we won’t have as much time as expected to test the new venue. But this year’s programme selection is good, and the market looks like it will go well. Busan City is supporting us enthusiastically and systematically.
What do you see as the key ele- ments of your role?
LYK In a way, it’s as if we’re going from the era of the father to the era of the eldest brother with me, and we’re now all dividing the work that our father did. My main job is to support the staff and bring in funds. Fortunately, and with thanks to Mr Kim, we have more sponsorship than ever before. Ahn Sung-ki and Kang Soo-yeon are a great help, too. [The veteran actor and
Lee Yong-kwan (main picture) has put in place a key team of deputies including Kim Ji- seok (top right) and Jay Jeon (above right)
actress are respectively co-deputy director and organising committee member and are known to rally sup- port.] We are all working towards holding a festival our ‘father’ will be glad to see. n
s THE BIFF TEAM
BIFF organisers have been preparing for Kim Dong- ho’s retirement since 2007 by dividing the burden of his many responsibilities. Most notably, two of the founding programmers — Jay Jeon and Kim Ji-seok — came to the fore as deputy director and executive programmer respectively. Jeon, who has been
head of World Cinema programming since the festival’s inception and more recently shepherded in the Flash Forward competition for non-Asian films, says: “There’s still some confusion over the new name of BIFF instead of PIFF and even
sometimes as to whether Kim Dong-ho is still the festival director. “We’re starting at the
new venue, which is a great thing but at the same time we can’t rest on any laurels. Festivals in East Asia are continually developing and stimulating one another.” Kim, who has been head
of Asian programming from the start and now oversees all other festival sections as executive programmer, is looking forward to opening the new era of the Busan Cinema Center. “There will be a tremendous amount of anticipation this year,” he says.
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