Isabelle Huppert, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kore-Eda Hirokazu, Fan Bingbing, Michelle Yeoh on Guest List as Busan Unveils Galas, Asian Cinema Competition

The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has announced its 31st edition's guest list, headlined by Isabelle Huppert, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kore-eda Hirokazu, Fan Bingbing and Michelle Yeoh, alongside details of its gala and Asian cinema competition programmes. The lineup underlines Busan's continued pull as Asia's leading film festival, drawing a mix of Hollywood, European and Asian stars, veteran auteurs and first-time visitors to Korea, while showcasing new and established work from across the region.

Highlights include Yeoh returning after 15 years to receive the Asian Filmmaker of the Year award, and Gyllenhaal making her first Korea visit with "Flesh Impact". The festival's gala section will screen five films, including Kore-eda's "Look Back" and Huppert's "All About Corinne", while the competition section features 14 films from countries including Korea, Japan, China, Iran and Indonesia, feeding into the New Currents Award for debut directors. A further 28 titles appear in the Window on Asian Cinema strand, and 35 in the Icons sidebar for established world cinema figures, alongside a large delegation of Japanese stars and other guests such as Ann Hui, Majid Majidi and Lav Diaz.