New Documentary Audience Award Launched at Busan International Film Festival

This fall’s 29th Busan International Film Festival will introduce a new accolade for documentary filmmakers. Announced on Monday, the festival revealed it will debut an audience award specifically for feature documentaries in an effort to enhance local engagement with the genre.

The award will be presented to one documentary feature within the festival’s established “Wide Angle – Documentary” section. This accolade, valued at 10 million Korean won, will be determined by popular vote to reflect both its popular and artistic appeal. Historically, Busan has offered just two audience awards: one for the New Currents category and another for the Flash Forward section, which spotlight first or second films by both Asian and non-Asian directors.

The festival stated, “This new award aims to bring the audience closer to documentary films, fostering a greater appreciation and support for documentary filmmaking while encouraging Korean and Asian filmmakers in their creative pursuits.”

The 29th edition of the Busan International Film Festival will run from October 2-11, with the 19th Asian Contents & Film Market held concurrently from October 5-8.

Regarded as Asia’s premier film festival, Busan has been passong a period of outstanding internal changes, including the resignations of key figures such as former chairman Lee Yong-kwan and festival director Huh Moonyoung.

To restore industry confidence, the festival has appointed influential filmmaker Park Kwang-su as the new chairman for 2024, with Pak Dosin and Kang Seung-ah serving as co-deputy directors. The festival plans to delay the appointment of a permanent festival director until after this year’s event to ensure the selection of the best candidate.