Participants pose for a group photo at the closing ceremony of Busan International Short Film Festival 2023 at Busan Cinema Center. Courtesy of BISFF

While the city of Busan is famous for its sandy beaches, fresh seafood, iconic bridge and savory pork soup, it has also carved out a rightful spot on the map of global cinema. The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) is the largest of its kind in Asia, delivering a big dose of glitz, glamour and high art to South Korea's second city every year in early October.

However, despite the fact that BIFF is the town's cultural marquee event, it's not even the city's oldest film festival: That honor goes to the Busan International Short Film Festival (BISFF), whose 41st incarnation kicks off this Thursday.

A poster for Busan International Short Film Festival / Courtesy of BISFF

"BISFF originally started in 1980, so it actually predates BIFF by 16 years," said Sébastien Simon, a French filmmaker who has worked with the festival as an organizer and programmer since 2012. "Of course, the latter became such a staple worldwide event that our festival, like most others in Korea, takes some of its cues from BIFF. Both are run by different teams, independently from each other, held at two different times of the year and with two different mandates — therefore there is no competition to speak of, really."

Celebrating cinema that emphasizes brevity, BISFF has long been committed to supporting both home-grown filmmakers in Korea and others around the globe. This year's theme is "Cinema & Reality," which, according to organizers, aims to "showcase short films capturing realities in various cinematic forms through the characteristics and strengths of the media suitable for depicting realities in the rawest form."

By embracing a wide theme, programmers are given more leeway when it comes to making their selections. "Like for previous editions," said Simon, "this theme is malleable enough that we have a lot of latitude, yet it is also precise enough that we knew quite naturally how to illustrate it for our curated, out-of-competition sections."

Pip Chodorov speaks at last year's Busan International Short Film Festival. Courtesy of BISFF

This is reflected in two of the festivals sections: Programmer Pip Chodorov has prepared a duet program ("The Cinema of Reality" and "The Reality of Cinema") featuring experimental works by American director Bill Morrison for the Prism section, while Kang Byung-hwa has curated a program titled "Reality Bites" in the Korean Shorts section.

Kang Byung-hwa / Courtesy of BISFF

"However," Simon continued, "the choice of a theme doesn't generally impact the selection of films for the competitive sections, which is made following other criteria than the theme."

This year's Competition sections promise to be alluring, as only the best of the best were selected. Out of 3,682 submissions from 116 countries for the International Competition, just 40 ended up making the cut. The Korean Competition is similarly exclusive: only 20 films were picked from a flurry of applicants, so each work is guaranteed to bring something unique to the table.

American filmmaker Bill Morrison / Courtesy of BISFF

"When selecting for the Competitions, we strive to find a balance of genres, durations, tones, issues and countries of origin," said Simon. "One of the core aspects that we care about is to find films that could only be told via the short film format. Whereas some films — which may nevertheless be good — feel like they are paving the way to be developed and ulteriorly transformed into a feature-length film. It is a subtle nuance. Personally, I'm often convinced when a short film genuinely surprises me — I don't just mean clever twists, but an overall feeling of unexpectedness in the way the story is being told."

One thing that makes the Busan International Short Film Festival so exciting is the variety on offer: This year's Guest Country section spotlights Italy — no stranger to quality cinematic output — with two different programs: "Italy Panorama" and "Italy Newreality." There is also plenty on the menu for those seeking more experimental and immersive works, such as the "3D Cinema" program (curated by Alaric Hamacher), the "XR" program and the "Interactive" program, all in the Prism sections.

Alaric Hamacher / Courtesy of BISFF

Throughout its 41 years, BISFF has undergone the growing pains and permutations inherent in an organization dedicated to nurturing new work and emerging artists. While originally a showcase for only Korean short films, the festival went international in 2010 and has never looked back, building a reputation along the way as a testing ground for the newest currents in cinema. As a result, the festival has been recognized by various cinema academies around the world and has also become a qualifying event for the Oscars, the BAFTAs and the Goyas, as well as the Canadian Screen Awards.

Michela Linda Magrì, the director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Seoul, center, poses with BISFF managing director Kim Dae-hwang, left, and BISFF artistic director Lee Sang-hoon. Courtesy of BISFF

And while short films will never pack the same commercial punch as full-length features, they are a vital component of the greater cinematic universe, making festivals like BISFF indispensable. "Shorts are important for filmmakers to develop their craft, to find their voice and to address issues more spontaneously than with feature-length films," said Simon. "And since the rules for features generally don't apply to shorts, that leaves short filmmakers freer to experiment boldly, to play with genres, styles and durations… and freer to make mistakes, as well."

As far as the future of the festival, Simon remains optimistic. One of the things he's found encouraging is how festivals from all over the country have recently come together to fight for the common good. "40 Korean film festivals cosigned a manifesto, aimed at voicing their concerns over the planned governmental budget cuts for this year," he said. "Such a move, including so many events at once, was interesting to behold, and a sign that these events know how to mobilize in the collective interests of the ecosystem."

Sebastien Simon, right, plays chess with the Grim Reaper in an event titled "The Death of Cinema(s)" at last year's Busan International Short Film Festival. Courtesy of BISFF

Still, for a film festival to survive and thrive, it needs an audience, which is always a challenge for those presenting short and experimental work. "One area where things can always improve for BISFF is audience attendance," said Simon. "The more Busanites learn about the event and come to watch short films, the better the festival will become."

The 41st Busan International Short Film Festival runs from April 25 to 30 at the Busan Cinema Center in Centum City. Visit bisff.org for more information.

Originally hailing from the Pacific Northwest in the U.S., Chris Tharp has called Korea home for nearly two decades now. He's a regular contributor to National Geographic Traveller (U.K.), and his award-winning writing has also appeared in CNN Travel, Condé Nast Traveler, The Telegraph, Fodor's, Asia Times and more. He lives in Busan with his wife and a houseful of animals. Visit substack.com/@christharp and christharp.journoportfolio.com for more information.