Busan International Film Festival
The Busan International Film Festival, held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan, South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festival, held from 13 to 21 September 1996, was also the first international film festival in Korea. The main focus of the BIFF is to introduce new films and first-time directors, especially those from Asian countries. Another notable feature is the appeal of the festival to young people, both in terms of the large youthful audience it attracts and through its efforts to develop and promote young talent. In 1999, the Pusan Promotion Plan was established to connect new directors to funding sources. The 16th BIFF in 2011 saw the festival move to a new permanent home, the Busan Cinema Center in Centum City. The Busan Cinema Center is an about USD 150 million structure designed by Austria-based architecture collective Coop Himmelblau. The about 30,000 m² Cinema Center includes a 4,000-seat outdoor theatre; four indoor screens under an LED-covered roof; media centre; archive space; and conference rooms; allowing the festival to include industry forums and educational activities.
History
- 1st Busan International Film Festival, 13–21 September 1996
- 2nd Busan International Film Festival, 10–18 October 1997
- 3rd Busan International Film Festival, 24 September – 1 October 1998
- 4th Busan International Film Festival, 14–23 October 1999
- 5th Busan International Film Festival, 6–14 October 2000
- 6th Busan International Film Festival, 9–17 November 2001
- 7th Busan International Film Festival, 14–23 November 2002
- 8th Busan International Film Festival, 2–10 October 2003
- 9th Busan International Film Festival, 7–15 October 2004
- 10th Busan International Film Festival, 6–14 October 2005
- 11th Busan International Film Festival, 12–20 October 2006
- 12th Busan International Film Festival, 4–12 October 2007
- 13th Busan International Film Festival, 2–10 October 2008
- 14th Busan International Film Festival, 8–16 October 2009
- 15th Busan International Film Festival, 7–15 October 2010
- 16th Busan International Film Festival, 6–14 October 2011
- 17th Busan International Film Festival, 4–13 October 2012
- 18th Busan International Film Festival, 3–12 October 2013
- 19th Busan International Film Festival, 2–11 October 2014
- 20th Busan International Film Festival, 1–10 October 2015
- 21st Busan International Film Festival, 6–15 October 2016
- 22nd Busan International Film Festival, 12–21 October 2017
- 23rd Busan International Film Festival, 4–13 October 2018
- 24th Busan International Film Festival, 3–12 October 2019
Official program sections
- Gala Presentation: Gala Presentation screens new master cineastes, films, and premieres.
- A Window on Asian Cinema: A showcase of new and/or representative films by Asian filmmakers.
- New Currents: The only international competition section featuring the first or the second feature films by future directors of Asian cinema.
- Korean Cinema Today: Selected Korean feature films are shown in two sub-sections, Panorama and Vision. These two sub-sections recognise the current production trend of Korean cinema and anticipate its future.
- Korean Cinema Retrospective: Revisiting the history of Korean cinema by spotlighting films of a certain notable director or films with a significant theme.
- World Cinema: Presentation of new works by filmmakers along with films that help understanding the recent trends in world cinema.
- Wide Angle: A section showing short films, animation, documentaries, and experimental films.
- Open Cinema: outdoor screening venue where a collection of new films, combining both art and mass popularity, are shown.
- Flash Forward: This section is a collection of first or second films of up-and-coming filmmakers from non-Asian countries.
- Midnight Passion: films of diverse genres.
- Special Programs in Focus: A retrospective and special showcase of films of a certain notable director or genre.
Official divisions
- Asian Film Market: Launched in 2006 as a marketplace for the industry events at the Busan International Film Festival.
- *Asian Project Market is a pre-market.
- Asian Cinema Fund: The Asian Cinema Fund is a funding program to help activate more independent film productions and to set up a stable production environment. It supports projects in various stages and categories. The 900 million won Asian Cinema Fund will be used to provide support to seven projects in script development, five post-productions, and thirteen documentary films.
- * The Script Development Fund is aimed at helping screenwriters complete their scripts.
- * The Post-Production Fund is made possible through the support of Korean post-production companies and the Korean Film Council. With this fund, the director is invited to Korea to work on sound and DI with Korean post-production houses. It will help the director complete his or her film in 35mm.
- * The Asian Network of Documentary Fund was initiated in 2002 and sponsored by six universities and corporations in the Busan region. As a part of the Busan International Film Festival, and holds master classes and clinics to stabilise the environment for documentary productions.
- Asian Film Academy is an educational program where prospective filmmakers and established directors from Asia gather to deliberate and prepare for the future of Asian cinema.
- Busan Cinema Forum is an academic event for filmmakers and scholars, launched on 10 October 2011. It aims to enhance the knowledge and support of the film industry and film aesthetics.
Awards
New Currents Award
The New Currents Award is given to the two best feature films selected from the first or second works of new Asian directors introduced in the New Currents section. A grand prize of $30,000 is awarded to each film.| No. | Year | Film | Director | Country/Region |
| 1 | 1996 | In Expectation | Zhang Ming | China |
| 2 | 1997 | Motel Cactus | Park Ki-yong | South Korea |
| 3 | 1998 | Xiao Wu | Jia Zhangke | China |
| 4 | 1999 | Timeless Melody | Hiroshi Okuhara | Japan |
| 5 | 2000 | The Day I Became a Woman | Marziyeh Meshkini | Iran |
| 6 | 2001 | Flower Island | Song Il-gon | South Korea |
| 7 | 2002 | Jealousy Is My Middle Name | Park Chan-ok | South Korea |
| 7 | 2002 | The Rite... A Passion | K.N.T. Sastry | India |
| 8 | 2003 | The Missing | Lee Kang-sheng | Taiwan |
| 8 | 2003 | Tiny Snowflakes | Alireza Amini | Iran |
| 9 | 2004 | This Charming Girl | Lee Yun-ki | South Korea |
| 10 | 2005 | Grain in Ear | Zhang Lu | China |
| 11 | 2006 | Betelnut | Heng Yang | China |
| 11 | 2006 | 'Love Conquers All | Tan Chui Mui | Malaysia |
| 12 | 2007 | 'Wonderful Town | Aditya Assarat | Thailand |
| 12 | 2007 | Life Track | Guang Hao Jin | China/Korea |
| 12 | 2007 | Flower in the Pocket | Liew Seng Tat | Malaysia |
| 13 | 2008 | Land of Scarecrows | Roh Gyeong-tae | South Korea |
| 13 | 2008 | Naked of Defenses | Masahide Ichii | Japan |
| 14 | 2009 | Kick Off | Shawkat Amin Korki | Iraq/Japan |
| 14 | 2009 | I'm in Trouble | So Sang-min | South Korea |
| 15 | 2010 | The Journals of Musan | Park Jung-bum | South Korea |
| 15 | 2010 | Bleak Night | Yoon Sung-hyun | South Korea |
| 16 | 2011 | Mourning | Morteza Farshbaf | Iran |
| 16 | 2011 | Nino | Loy Arcenas | Philippines |
| 17 | 2012 | 36 | Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit | Thailand |
| 17 | 2012 | Kayan | Maryam Najafi | Lebanon/Canada |
| 18 | 2013 | Pascha | Ahn Sun-kyoung | South Korea |
| 18 | 2013 | Remote Control | Byamba Sakhya | Mongolia/Germany |
| 19 | 2014 | End of Winter | Kim Dae-hwan | South Korea |
| 20 | 2015 | Immortal | Seyed Hadi Mohaghegh | Iran |
| 20 | 2015 | Walnut Tree | Yerlan Nurmukhambetov | Kazakhstan |
| 21 | 2016 | The Donor | Zang Qiwu | China |
| 21 | 2016 | Knife in the Clear Water | Wang Xuebo | China |
| 22 | 2017 | After My Death | Kim Ui-seok | Korea |
| 22 | 2017 | Blockage | Mohsen Gharaei | Iran |
| 23 | 2018 | Clean Up | Kwon Man-ki | South Korea |
| 23 | 2018 | Savage | Cui Siwei | China |
| 24 | 2019 | Haifa Street | Mohanad Hayal | Iraq/Qatar |
| 24 | 2019 | Rom'' | Tran Thanh Huy | Vietnam |
Flash Forward Award
Newly created in 2009, the USD 30,000 award is given to the best film among those screened in the competing section, Flash Forward.| No. | Year | Film | Director | Country |
| 14 | 2009 | Last Cowboy Standing | Zaida Bergroth | Finland/Germany |
| 15 | 2010 | Pure | Lisa Langseth | Sweden |
| 16 | 2011 | LA-BAS - A Criminal Education | Guido Lombardi | Italy |
| 17 | 2012 | Flower Buds | Zdeněk Jirasky | Czech Republic |
Sonje Award
A KRW 20,000,000 award given to the Korean and Asian director of the best short film.| No. | Year | Film | Director | Country/Region |
| 1 | 1996 | Arrival of the Train | Andrej Sheleznjakov | Russia |
| 2 | 1997 | The Saltmen of Tibet | Ulrike Koch | Switzerland |
| 3 | 1998 | Lachrymal | Lim Chang-jae | South Korea |
| 3 | 1998 | Heavy | Park Chan-ok | South Korea |
| 4 | 1999 | 28 October 1979, A Sunny Sunday | Kwon Jong-kwan | South Korea |
| 5 | 2000 | Bardo | Yoon Young-ho | South Korea |
| 6 | 2001 | Siam Hard Romance | Kim Jeong-gu | South Korea |
| 7 | 2002 | Chapter Two: How to Breathe | Lee Hyung-suk | South Korea |
| 8 | 2003 | The Spring and the Delight | Park Jung-seon | South Korea |
| 8 | 2003 | The Third Tongue | Son Kwang-ju | South Korea |
| 9 | 2004 | Punk Eek | Son Kwang-ju | South Korea |
| 9 | 2004 | Gold Fish | Park Shin-woo | South Korea |
| 10 | 2005 | Tea & Poison | Joung Yong-ju | South Korea |
| 10 | 2005 | A Bowl of Tea | Kim Young-nam | South Korea |
| 11 | 2006 | Portfolio | Yoon Seong-ho | South Korea |
| 11 | 2006 | The Wind Stirs | Lee Jin-woo | South Korea |
| 12 | 2007 | Woong's Story | Lee Ha-song | South Korea |
| 12 | 2007 | A Man Under the Influenza | Jung July | South Korea |
| 13 | 2008 | Andong | Rommel Tolentino | Philippines |
| 13 | 2008 | Girl | Hong Sung-hoon | South Korea |
| 14 | 2009 | Somewhere Unreached | Kim Jae-won | South Korea |
| 14 | 2009 | Rare Fish | Basil Mironer | Singapore/Indonesia |
| 15 | 2010 | Broken Night | Yang Hyo-joo | South Korea |
| 15 | 2010 | Inhalation | Edmund Yeo | Malaysia/Japan |
| 16 | 2011 | See You Tomorrow | Lee Woo-jung | South Korea |
| 16 | 2011 | Thug Beram | Venkat Amudhan | India |
| 17 | 2012 | The Night of The Witness | Park Buem | South Korea |
| 17 | 2012 | A Little Farther | Nikan Nezami | Iran |
| 18 | 2013 | A Lady Caddy Who Never Saw a Hole in One | Yosep Anggi Noen | Indonesia |
| 18 | 2013 | In the Summer | Son Tae-gyum | South Korea |
| 19 | 2014 | Stairway | Matt Wu | Taiwan |
| 19 | 2014 | The Night | Choi Ki-yun | South Korea |
| 20 | 2015 | Nia's Door | Lau Kek Huat | Taiwan |
| 20 | 2015 | Shame Diary | Lee Eun-jeong | South Korea |
| 21 | 2016 | Off-season | Yelzat Eskendir | Kazakhstan |
| 21 | 2016 | Viewer | Kim So-youn | South Korea |
| 22 | 2017 | A Hand-written Poster | Kwak Eun-mi | South Korea |
| 22 | 2017 | Madonna | Sinung Winahyoko | Indonesia |
| 23 | 2018 | Cat Day Afternoon | Kwon Sung-mo | South Korea |
| 23 | 2018 | Nooreh | Ashish Pandey | India |
| 24 | 2019 | Dragon's Tail | Saeed Keshavarz | Iran |
| 24 | 2019 | Hello | Jin Seong-moon | South Korea |
BIFF Mecenat Award
A KRW 10,000,000 award given to the best Korean and Asian documentary film directors.| No. | Year | Film | Director | Country/Region |
| 1 | 1996 | Wind Echoing in My Being | Jeon Soo-il | South Korea |
| 2 | 1997 | The Six Day Fight in Myong Dong Cathedral | Kim Dong-won | South Korea |
| 3 | 1998 | Reclaiming Our Names | Hong Hyung-sook | South Korea |
| 4 | 1999 | My Own Breathing | Byun Young-joo | South Korea |
| 4 | 1999 | Mindullae | Choi Ha Dong-ha, Lee Jeong-soon | South Korea |
| 5 | 2000 | Sky-Blue Hometown | Kim So-young | South Korea |
| 6 | 2001 | Farewell | Hwang Yun | South Korea |
| 7 | 2002 | On the Right Track | Lee Ji-young | South Korea |
| 7 | 2002 | Mudang: Reconciliation Between the Living and the Dead | Park Ki-bok | South Korea |
| 8 | 2003 | And Thereafter | Lee Ho-sup | South Korea |
| 9 | 2004 | What Do People Live For? | Lee Jeong-soon | South Korea |
| 10 | 2005 | Coreen 2495 | Ha Joon-so | South Korea |
| 10 | 2005 | Annyoung Sayonara | Kim Tae-il, Kumiko Katō | South Korea |
| 11 | 2006 | Our School | Kim Myeong-joon | South Korea |
| 11 | 2006 | People Crossing the River | Kim Duk-chul | South Korea |
| 12 | 2007 | Grandmother's Flower | Moon Jung-hyun | South Korea |
| 13 | 2008 | Mental | Kazuhiro Soda | Japan |
| 13 | 2008 | Old Partner | Lee Chung-ryoul | South Korea |
| 14 | 2009 | Earth's Woman | Kwon Woo-jung | South Korea |
| 14 | 2009 | The Other Song | Saba Dewan | India |
| 15 | 2010 | Miracle on Jongno Street | Lee Hyuk-sang | South Korea |
| 15 | 2010 | New Castle | Guo Hengqi | China |
| 16 | 2011 | Sea of Butterfly | Park Bae-il | South Korea |
| 16 | 2011 | Shoji & Takao | Ide Yoko | Japan |
| 17 | 2012 | Anxiety | Min Hwan-ki | South Korea |
| 17 | 2012 | Embers | Tamara Stepanyan | Lebanon/Qatar/Armenia |
| 18 | 2013 | Jalanan | Daniel Ziv | Indonesia |
| 18 | 2013 | Non-fiction Diary | Jung Yoon-suk | South Korea |
| 19 | 2014 | Collapse | Mun Jeong-hyun, Lee Won-woo | South Korea |
| 19 | 2014 | The Storm Makers | Guillaume Suon | Cambodia |
| 20 | 2015 | Boys Run | Kang Seok-pil | South Korea |
| 20 | 2015 | Look Love | Ye Yun | China |
| 21 | 2016 | The Crescent Rising | Sheron Dayoc | Philippines |
| 21 | 2016 | Neighborhood | Sung Seung-taek | South Korea |
| 22 | 2017 | Soseongri | Park Bae-il | South Korea |
| 22 | 2017 | Sennan Asbestos Disaster | Kazuo Hara | Japan |
| 23 | 2018 | Army | Kelvin Park Kyung-kun | South Korea |
| 23 | 2018 | Opening Closing Forgetting | James T. Hong | Taiwan |
| 24 | 2019 | Noodle Kid | Huo Ning | China |
| 24 | 2019 | Underground | Kim Jeong-keun | South Korea |
Actor & Actress of the Year Award
Newly created in 2014, Actor & Actress of the Year is the award to focus on first time actor and an actress in an independent Korean film among the New Currents and Korean Cinema Today Vision section. One top Korean actor and actress select one actor and one actress, will be awarded at the closing ceremony. Winners will be awarded 5,000,000 KRW each.| No. | Year | Actor | Film | Country | Actress | Film | Country |
| 19 | 2014 | Choi Woo-shik | Set Me Free | South Korea | Cho Soo-hyang | Wild Flowers | South Korea |
| 20 | 2015 | Lee Ju-won | ALONE | South Korea | Sun Jang | Communication & Lies | South Korea |
| 21 | 2016 | Koo Kyo-hwan | Jane | South Korea | Lee Min-ji | Jane | South Korea |
| 22 | 2017 | Park Jong-hwan | Hit the Night | South Korea | Jeon Yeo-been | After My Death | South Korea |
| 23 | 2018 | Choi Hee-seo Lee Joo-young | Our Body Maggie | South Korea | |||
| 24 | 2019 | Kim Jun-hyung | The Education | South Korea | Mun Hye-in | The Education | South Korea |
FIPRESCI Award
Given by the International Federation of Film Critics from the entries in the New Currents section.| No. | Year | Film | Director | Country/Region |
| 2 | 1997 | Made in Hong Kong | Fruit Chan | Hong Kong, China |
| 3 | 1998 | Ikinai | Hiroshi Shimizu | Japan |
| 4 | 1999 | The Cup | Khyentse Norbu | Bhutan |
| 5 | 2000 | Sunflower | Yukisada Isao | Japan |
| 6 | 2001 | Flower Island | Song Il-gon | South Korea |
| 6 | 2001 | One Fine Spring Day | Hur Jin-ho | South Korea |
| 7 | 2002 | Too Young to Die | Park Jin-pyo | South Korea |
| 8 | 2003 | Deep Breath | Parviz Shahbazi | Iran |
| 9 | 2004 | Soap Opera | Wuershan | China |
| 10 | 2005 | The Unforgiven | Yoon Jong-bin | South Korea |
| 11 | 2006 | Love Conquers All | Tan Chui Mui | Malaysia |
| 12 | 2007 | The Red Awn | Cai Shangjun | China |
| 13 | 2008 | Jalainur | Ye Zhao | China |
| 14 | 2009 | Kick Off | Shawkat Amin Korki | Iraq/Japan |
| 15 | 2010 | The Journals of Musan | Park Jung-bum | South Korea |
| 16 | 2011 | Mourning | Morteza Farshbaf | Iran |
| 17 | 2012 | 36 | Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit | Thailand |
| 18 | 2013 | 10 Minutes | Lee Yong-seung | South Korea |
| 19 | 2014 | What's the Time in Your World? | Safi Yazdanian | Iran |
| 20 | 2015 | Immortal | Hadi Mohaghegh | Iran |
| 21 | 2016 | White Ant | Chu Hsien-che | Taiwan |
| 22 | 2017 | Last Child | Shin Dong-seok | South Korea |
| 23 | 2018 | The Red Phallus | Tashi Gyeltshen | Bhutan/Germany/Nepal |
| 24 | 2019 | Running to the Sky | Mirlan Abdykalykov | Kyrgyzstan |
NETPAC Award
Awarded to the best Korean film from either New Currents and Korean Cinema Today sections| No. | Year | Film | Director | Country |
| 1 | 1996 | Three Friends | Yim Soon-rye | South Korea |
| 2 | 1997 | Timeless, Bottomless Bad Movie | Jang Sun-woo | South Korea |
| 3 | 1998 | The Power of Kangwon Province | Hong Sang-soo | South Korea |
| 4 | 1999 | The Bird Who Stops in the Air | Jeon Soo-il | South Korea |
| 5 | 2000 | Chunhyang | Im Kwon-taek | South Korea |
| 6 | 2001 | Take Care of My Cat | Jeong Jae-eun | South Korea |
| 7 | 2002 | Road Movie | Kim In-sik | South Korea |
| 8 | 2003 | Untold Scandal | E J-yong | South Korea |
| 9 | 2004 | 3-Iron | Kim Ki-duk | South Korea |
| 10 | 2005 | The Unforgiven | Yoon Jong-bin | South Korea |
| 11 | 2006 | The Last Dining Table | Roh Gyeong-tae | South Korea |
| 12 | 2007 | Hello Stranger | Kim Dong-hyun | South Korea |
| 12 | 2007 | With a Girl of Black Soil | Jeon Soo-il | South Korea |
| 13 | 2008 | Members of the Funeral | Baek Seung-bin | South Korea |
| 13 | 2008 | Treeless Mountain | Kim So-yong | South Korea |
| 14 | 2009 | Paju | Park Chan-ok | South Korea |
| 15 | 2010 | Dooman River | Zhang Lu | China |
| 16 | 2011 | The King of Pigs | Yeon Sang-ho | South Korea |
| 17 | 2012 | Jiseul | O Muel | South Korea |
| 18 | 2013 | Shuttlecock | Lee Yu-bin | South Korea |
| 19 | 2014 | Socialphobia | Hong Seok-jae | South Korea |
| 20 | 2015 | Communication & Lies | Lee Seung-won | South Korea |
| 21 | 2016 | Merry Christmas Mr. Mo | Lim Dae-hyung | South Korea |
| 22 | 2017 | February | Kim Joong-hyun | South Korea |
| 23 | 2018 | House of Hummingbird | Kim Bo-ra | South Korea |
| 24 | 2019 | Moving On | Yoon Dan-bi | South Korea |
Busan Cinephile Award
This award is given to the best world documentary film presented in the Wide Angle Documentary Showcase. The winner is awarded 5,000,000KRW. The jury consists of college students, including 70 students from the cinema-related departments of 7 universities in Busan region.| No. | Year | Film | Director | Country |
| 16 | 2011 | The Twin | Gustav Danielsson | Sweden |
| 17 | 2012 | 5 Broken Cameras | Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi | Palestine/Israel/ France/Netherlands |
| 18 | 2013 | Father’s Garden – The Love of My Parents | Peter Liechti | Switzerland |
| 19 | 2014 | The Look of Silence | Joshua Oppenheimer | Denmark |
| 20 | 2015 | The Other Side | Roberto Minervini | Italy/France |
| 21 | 2016 | The Apology | Tiffany Hsiung | Canada |
| 22 | 2017 | A Free Man | Andreas Hartmann | Germany/Japan |
| 23 | 2018 | Bruce Lee and the Outlaw | Joost Vandebrug | United Kingdom/Netherlands/ Czech Republic |
| 24 | 2019 | Que Sea Ley | Juan Diego Solanas | France/Argentina/Uruguay |
DGK Award
| No. | Year | Recipient | Category | Film | Country |
| 16 | 2011 | Yeon Sang-ho | Director | The King of Pigs | South Korea |
| 16 | 2011 | Ha Hyun-kwan | Actor | Beautiful Miss Jin | South Korea |
| 16 | 2011 | Han Song-hee, Hwang Jung-min | Actress | Jesus Hospital | South Korea |
| 17 | 2012 | O Muel | Director | Jiseul | South Korea |
| 17 | 2012 | Shin Yeon-shick | Director | The Russian Novel | South Korea |
| 17 | 2012 | Shim Hee-sub, Ahn Jae-hong, Kim Chang-hwan | Actor | Sunshine Boys | South Korea |
| 17 | 2012 | Jang Young-nam | Actress | Azooma | South Korea |
DGK Award goes to two most outstanding Korean films from Korean Cinema Today-Vision section with grant of KRW 5,000,000 for each winner, which is sponsored by MEGABOX. Boycotted by the Director's Guild of Korea in 2016 and 2017, the award was reinstated in 2018.
| No. | Year | Film | Director | Country |
| 19 | 2014 | A Midsummer's Fantasia | Jang Kun-jae | South Korea |
| 19 | 2014 | Socialphobia | Hong Seok-jae | South Korea |
| 20 | 2015 | The Boys Who Cried Wolf | Kim Jin-hwang | South Korea |
| 20 | 2015 | Eyelids | O Muel | South Korea |
| 23 | 2018 | Bori | Kim Jin-yu | South Korea |
| 23 | 2018 | Sub-zero Wind | Kim Yu-ri | South Korea |
| 24 | 2019 | Moving On | Yoon Dan-bi | South Korea |
| 24 | 2019 | Lucky Chan-sil | Kim Cho-hee | South Korea |
Daemyung Culture Wave Award
Newly created in 2014, it is co-sponsored by Daemyung Holdings to expand the opportunity of the Korean independent films, it is established to award the film from the Korean Cinema Today-Vision and New Currents with prized of 20,000,000 KRW and distribution support.| No. | Year | Film | Director | Country |
| 19 | 2014 | The Liar | Kim Dong-myung | South Korea |
| 20 | 2015 | Overman | Seo Eun-young | South Korea |
| 21 | 2016 | Yongsoon | Shin Joon | South Korea |
CGV Movie Collage Award
This award was newly created in 2011 in collaboration with CJ CGV Arthouse to shed new light on the Korean Cinema Today Vision section. The award aims to provide independent films, indie films, new films, and low budget films with distribution and screening opportunities.| No. | Year | Film | Director | Country |
| 16 | 2011 | The King of Pigs | Yeon Sang-ho | South Korea |
| 17 | 2012 | Jiseul | O Muel | South Korea |
| 18 | 2013 | Han Gong-ju | Lee Su-jin | South Korea |
| 19 | 2014 | A Matter of Interpretation | Lee Kwang-kuk | South Korea |
| 20 | 2015 | Eyelids | O Muel | South Korea |
| 21 | 2016 | Jane | Cho Hyun-hoon | South Korea |
| 22 | 2017 | Microhabitat | Jeon Go-woon | South Korea |
| 23 | 2018 | Maggie | Yi Ok-seop | South Korea |
| 24 | 2019 | Lucky Chan-sil | Kim Cho-hee | South Korea |
KNN Award (Audience Award)
Awarded by the KNN Foundation to a film from the New Currents section selected by audiences with a $20,000 award for the director.| No. | Year | Film | Director | Country/Region |
| 3 | 1998 | April Story | Iwai Shunji | Japan |
| 4 | 1999 | Gemini | Shinya Tsukamoto | Japan |
| 5 | 2000 | Die Bad | Ryoo Seung-wan | South Korea |
| 6 | 2001 | Flower Island | Song Il-gon | South Korea |
| 7 | 2002 | Too Young to Die | Park Jin-pyo | South Korea |
| 8 | 2003 | The Road Taken | Hong Ki-sun | South Korea |
| 8 | 2003 | Osama | Siddiq Barmak | Afghanistan |
| 9 | 2004 | Survive Style 5+ | Gen Sekiguchi | Japan |
| 10 | 2005 | The Unforgiven | Yoon Jong-bin | South Korea |
| 11 | 2006 | The White Silk Dress | Luu Huynh | Vietnam |
| 12 | 2007 | Flower in the Pocket | Liew Seng Tat | Malaysia |
| 13 | 2008 | 100 | Chris Martinez | Philippines |
| 14 | 2009 | Lan | Jiang Wenli | China |
| 15 | 2010 | My Spectacular Theatre | Lu Yang | China |
| 16 | 2011 | Watch Indian Circus | Mangesh Hadawale | India |
| 17 | 2012 | Touch of the Light | Chang Jung-Chi | Taiwan |
| 18 | 2013 | 10 Minutes | Lee Yong-seung | South Korea |
| 19 | 2014 | Ghadi | Amin Dora | Lebanon |
| 20 | 2015 | Radio Set | Hari Viswanath | India |
| 21 | 2016 | In Between Seasons | Lee Dong-eun | South Korea |
| 22 | 2017 | End of Summer | Zhou Quan | China |
| 24 | 2019 | An Old Lady | Lim Sun-ae | South Korea |
Busan Bank Award (Audience Award)
Created in 2013, this award is given to the film that is most highly rated by festival audiences. Approximately 10 films from the Flash Forward section are selected beforehand to participate in this competition. A total of 20,000 USD is granted by the BNK Busan Bank. 10,000 USD is awarded to the director and the other half is used to support the distribution of the film in Korea.| No. | Year | Film | Director | Country |
| 18 | 2013 | Home | Maximilian Hult | Sweden/Iceland |
| 19 | 2014 | The Boss, Anatomy of a Crime | Sebastián Schindel | Argentina |
| 20 | 2015 | Highway to Hellas | Aron Lehmann | Germany |
| 21 | 2016 | Night of a 1000 Hours | Virgil Widrich | Luxembourg/Austria/Netherlands |
| 22 | 2017 | Pulse | Stevie Cruz-Martin | Australia |
| 24 | 2019 | Fabulous | Mélanie Charbonneau | Canada |
Citizen Critics' Award
Citizen critics from the Busan Cinematheque choose the best film from those screened in the Korean Cinema Today-Vision section and its director is granted the award. The winner is awarded 10,000,000 KRW with the purpose of assisting in their next production.| No. | Year | Film | Director | Country |
| 16 | 2011 | Romance Joe | Lee Kwang-kuk | South Korea |
| 17 | 2012 | Jiseul | O Muel | South Korea |
| 18 | 2013 | Han Gong-ju | Lee Su-jin | South Korea |
| 18 | 2013 | Shuttlecock | Lee Yu-bin | South Korea |
| 19 | 2014 | Set Me Free | Kim Tae-yong | South Korea |
| 20 | 2015 | ALONE | Park Hong-min | South Korea |
| 21 | 2016 | Jamsil | Lee Wan-min | South Korea |
| 22 | 2017 | Possible Faces | Lee Kang-hyun | South Korea |
| 23 | 2018 | Maggie | Yi Ok-seop | South Korea |
| 24 | 2019 | Moving On | Yoon Dan-bi | South Korea |
Vision-Director's Award
Newly created in 2016, this award is given to two promising directors of newly produced independent films in the Korean Cinema Today-Vision section, who have shown the most outstanding production skills. The winner gets a cash prize reward of 5,000 USD sponsored by MEGABOX.| No. | Year | Director | Film | Country |
| 21 | 2016 | Jang Woo-jin | Autumn, Autumn | South Korea |
| 21 | 2016 | Ahn Seon-kyoung | Hyeon's Quartet | South Korea |
| 22 | 2017 | Kim Joong-hyun | February | South Korea |
| 22 | 2017 | Jeong Ga-young | Hit the Night | South Korea |
Kim Jiseok Award
Launched by BIFF in 2017 to remember and honor the late Kim Ji-seok who died in May 2017. Kim was a founding member of the BIFF who devoted his whole life to discovering young Asian directors and supporting the growth of Asian cinema. He took an essential role to establish BIFF as one of the world's best film festivals.| No. | Year | Film | Director | Country/Region |
| 22 | 2017 | Anucha Boonyawatana | Thailand | |
| 22 | 2017 | The Scythian Lamb | Daihachi Yoshida | Japan |
| 23 | 2018 | The Rib | Zhang Wei | China |
| 23 | 2018 | Rona, Azim's Mother | Jamshid Mahmoudi | Taiwan |
| 24 | 2019 | Circus of Life | Sarmad Khoosat | Pakistan |
| 24 | 2019 | Market | Pradip Kurbah | India |
KTH Award
Newly created in 2018 to promote Korean independent films, KTH, a renowned film investor and digital content distributor, will select two Korean films from the Korean Cinema Today–Vision and the New Currents section. The winners will receive the KTH Award and a cash prize of 10,000,000 KRW.| No. | Year | Film | Director | Country/Region |
| 23 | 2018 | Clean up | Kwon Man-ki | South Korea |
| 23 | 2018 | A Boy and Sungreen | Ahn Ju-young | South Korea |
| 24 | 2019 | Lucky Monster | Bong Joon-young | South Korea |
| 24 | 2019 | Moving On | Yoon Dan-bi | South Korea |
KBS Independent Film Award
Newly created in 2018 to promote Korean independent films, Korean Broadcasting System, which broadcasts independent films KBS Independent Cinema, will select one best film from the Korean Cinema Today–Vision and the New Currents section. The winner will receive a cash prize of 10,000,000 KRW and the award-winning film will be screened on KBS Independent Cinema within one year after release with a separate broadcasting rights contract from the award.| No. | Year | Film | Director | Country |
| 23 | 2018 | Maggie | Yi Ok-seop | South Korea |
| 24 | 2019 | Lucky Chan-sil | Kim Cho-hee | South Korea |
Korean Cinema Award
Given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions in promoting Korean Cinema to the World Film Community.| No. | Year | Name | Country |
| 1 | 1996 | Adriano Apra | Italy |
| 1 | 1996 | Tony Rayns | UK |
| 1 | 1996 | Alain Jalladeau | France |
| 1 | 1996 | Ulrich Gregor | Germany |
| 1 | 1996 | Larry Kadish | USA |
| 1 | 1996 | Ancha Flubacher-Rhim | Switzerland |
| 1 | 1996 | Simon Field | UK |
| 2 | 1997 | Aruna Vasudev | India |
| 2 | 1997 | Sato Tadao | Japan |
| 3 | 1998 | Gilles Jacob | France |
| 3 | 1998 | Moritz de Hadeln | Germany |
| 4 | 1999 | Serge Losique | Canada |
| 4 | 1999 | Lee Young-il | South Korea |
| 5 | 2000 | Martin & Anna Louisa Girod | Switzerland |
| 6 | 2001 | Eva Zaoralová | Czech Republic |
| 7 | 2002 | Alain Patel | France |
| 8 | 2003 | Park Byoung-yang | Japan |
| 8 | 2003 | Lee Bong-ou | Japan |
| 9 | 2004 | Yano Kazuyki | Japan |
| 9 | 2004 | Phillip Cheah | Singapore |
| 10 | 2005 | Dieter Kosslick | Germany |
| 10 | 2005 | Thierry Fremaux | France |
| 11 | 2006 | Martial Knaebell | Switzerland |
| 11 | 2006 | Terawaki Ken | Japan |
| 12 | 2007 | Sabrina Baracetti | Italy |
| 12 | 2007 | Jean-Francois Rauger | France |
| 13 | 2008 | Richard Pena | USA |
| 14 | 2009 | Riccardo Gelli | Italy |
| 14 | 2009 | Jeannette Paulson Hereniko | USA |
| 15 | 2010 | Bruno Barde | France |
| 16 | 2011 | Julietta Sichel | Czech Republic |
| 17 | 2012 | Hayashi Kanako | Japan |
| 18 | 2013 | Charles Tesson | France |
| 19 | 2014 | Corinne Siegrist-Oboussier | Switzerland |
| 20 | 2015 | Wieland Speck | German |
| 21 | 2016 | Laurence Herszberg | France |
| 22 | 2017 | Christoph Terhechte | Germany |
| 23 | 2018 | Martine Thérouanne | France |
| 23 | 2018 | Jean-Marc Thérouanne | France |
| 24 | 2019 | Bae Yongjae | South Korea |
| 24 | 2019 | Yoo Dongsuk | South Korea |
Asian Filmmaker of the Year
Given to an Asian filmmaker with the most outstanding activity in improving and developing Asian Film Industry and Culture.| No. | Year | Name | Country/Region |
| 8 | 2003 | Mohsen Makhmalbaf | Iran |
| 9 | 2004 | Hou Hsiao-hsien | Taiwan |
| 10 | 2005 | NHK | Japan |
| 11 | 2006 | Andy Lau | Hong Kong |
| 12 | 2007 | Edward Yang | Taiwan |
| 13 | 2008 | Gulnara Sarsenova | Kazakhstan |
| 14 | 2009 | Yash Chopra | India |
| 15 | 2010 | Tsai Ming-liang | Taiwan |
| 16 | 2011 | Tsui Hark | Hong Kong |
| 17 | 2012 | Kōji Wakamatsu | Japan |
| 18 | 2013 | Rithy Panh | Cambodia |
| 19 | 2014 | Ann Hui | Hong Kong |
| 20 | 2015 | Studio Ghibli | Japan |
| 21 | 2016 | Abbas Kiarostami | Iran |
| 22 | 2017 | Seijun Suzuki | Japan |
| 23 | 2018 | Ryuichi Sakamoto | Japan |
| 24 | 2019 | Hirokazu Kore-eda | Japan |