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The 42nd Busan International Short Film Festival Opens on April 24 Under the Theme “Cinema & Sound”

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The Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that the 42nd Busan International Short Film Festival (BISFF), the first film festival of 2025 in UNESCO Creative City of Film Busan, will be held for six days from April 24 to 29.

Established in 1980, BISFF is the largest international short film festival in Korea. It is hosted and organized by the Busan International Short Film Festival Association with the support of The Busan Metropolitan City.

The festival will take place at the Busan Cinema Center and the BNK Busan Bank Art Cinema (Motungui Theater).

This year’s theme, Cinema & Sound, highlights the art of sound in cinema—dialogue, sound effects, and film scores—which are integral to the film experience. The festival will explore the aesthetics of sound through the lens of short films.

From a total of 5,530 submissions from 121 countries, 157 films from 41 countries were selected for screening, including 40 entries in the International Competition and 20 in the Korean Competition.

Opening Films (April 24, 7:00 p.m., Haneul Theater)
Three opening films, reflecting this year’s theme and cultural exchange, are:

• ●Grandfather Crocodile (Colombia) – Documentary

• ●Across the Water (France) – Fiction

• ●Carlos’s Helmet (Mexico) – Documentary

The opening ceremony will feature:

• ●A traditional-modern fusion dance performance by Colombian artist Jhonatan Jiménez, recipient of the Colombian Order of Cultural Merit

• ●Screening of a music video by director and singer-songwriter Kim Sawol

• ●Live performances celebrating the fusion of sound and cinema

A pre-opening night performance will be held on April 23 at 7:00 p.m. at BNK Busan Bank Headquarters' Ocean Hall.

The cinema concert will screen three international competition selections—Silent Landscape, Sheep, and A Little Stranger—along with live performances featuring a theremin, traditional Colombian dance, and a youth choir from Dong-gu District, Busan.

For the first time in BISFF history, Colombia has been named the guest country. A special "Colombia Program" will present works that depict the social realities of the country, alongside a wide range of special screenings and events.

Additional special programs include:

• ●Moving on Asia (in collaboration with Busan Museum of Art and Loop Lab Busan)

• ●Outdoor screening Greenpeace Signal

• ●BISFF Roundtable and Talk sessions to encourage audience interaction

Closing Ceremony (April 29, 7:00 p.m.)
The closing event will announce the 12 award-winning films across four categories, including Best Film in both International and Korean Competition.

BISFF is Korea’s first Academy Awards-qualifying short film festival. Winners of the top prizes in the competition categories will be eligible for nomination in the Live Action Short Film and Animated Short Film categories at the Oscars.

Tickets and Information
Festival tickets have been available since April 17 via the Busan Cinema Center website (www.dureraum.org) and on-site.
For screening schedules and festival details, visit the BISFF official website at bisff.org.
Inquiries: BISFF Office (+82-51-742-9600)

Cho Yoo-jang, Director of the Culture Bureau of The Busan Metropolitan City, stated,
“We hope audiences will experience the emotional depth and artistic resonance of short films from around the world through this year’s sound-focused theme.”