Alfonso Cuaron to Make Historic Korea Visit at Busan Film Festival

The 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has announced that two-time Academy Award-winning director Alfonso Cuarón will make his inaugural visit to Korea. The prestigious festival also unveiled a special program dedicated to nine films by European women and genderqueer filmmakers, developed in partnership with European Film Promotion.

Cuarón, known for directing “Gravity” and “Roma,” is set to appear at the BIFF opening ceremony. During the event, he will engage in an extended dialogue with attendees regarding the cinematic techniques and visual instincts that define his work. Additionally, an IMAX screening of “Gravity,” which he co-wrote with his son Jonás Cuarón, will be featured as part of the festival lineup.

Jonás Cuarón’s latest feature, “Campeón Gabacho,” will receive its Asian premiere in the World Cinema section, followed by a post-screening Q&A session. The film, which stars Juan Daniel García Treviño, Leslie Grace, Rubén Blades, Eddie Marsan, Rosario Dawson, and Cheech Marin, tells the story of a Mexican immigrant establishing a life in the United States. It is produced by Jonás Cuarón, Alfonso Cuarón, and Gabriela Rodriguez under their Esperanto Filmoj banner, with Nicolás Celis also contributing as a producer.

In a separate initiative, BIFF is presenting “Europe! Voices of Women+ in Film,” a showcase running in collaboration with European Film Promotion. The program highlights nine officially selected titles through targeted promotion and industry networking opportunities. The selected films explore themes of freedom, memory, and family, spanning period dramas, documentaries, and contemporary narratives, with four of the entries marking feature-length debuts.

May el-Toukhy’s “Woman Unknown,” which won the Golden Lion at Venice, serves as the anchor of the group. El-Toukhy became the first Danish woman filmmaker to win the award, while Mathilde Arcel took home the Volpi Cup for best actress. The lineup also includes debut works such as Marine Atlan’s “La Gradiva,” Margherita Ferrari’s “Föa – Once Upon a Future,” and Sarah Arnold’s “Too Many Beasts.” Other featured films are Pegah Ahangarani’s “Rehearsals for a Revolution,” Sandra Wollner’s “Everytime,” Isabelle Stever’s “I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming,” Marie Kreutzer’s “Gentle Monster,” and Shahrbanoo Sadat’s “No Good Men. “

The program is further bolstered by selections from this year’s gala presentations, including Judith Godrèche’s “A Girl’s Story” and Angela Schanelec’s “My Wife Cries,” as well as “Birds of War” by Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak. Jacqueline Lentzou’s “A Day in the Life of Jo: Chapter Phaedra,” winner of the Horizons Award for Best Director at Venice, and Konstantina Kotzamani’s “Titanic Ocean” are also included.

Five directors from the program—el-Toukhy, Godrèche, Ferrari, Lentzou, and Kotzamani—will travel to Busan to present their films. Godrèche is additionally scheduled to participate in a Cine Class session titled “Women, Rewriting the Screen.” BIFF and European Film Promotion will co-host a panel discussion called “Women Directors: Taking the Scene,” featuring Ferrari, el-Toukhy, and Lentzou, alongside Iranian director Marjan Khosravi.