These are twenty short films you shouldn’t miss at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival which will take place from July 3 – 13, 2025 in Bucheon, South Korea.

22 minutes by Lee Seo-hee – Korea | 2025 – 38 minutes | World Premiere
Section: XL 5

Seojin lives with her mom, but they only see each other for about 10 minutes after Seojin returns from work in the morning. One seemingly ordinary day, everything changes when the emergency siren goes off. Suddenly, residents in the Seoul area are instructed to take shelter immediately. Though they live together, Seojin and her mom have rarely truly shared their lives — until now, as they begin to make an evacuation plan. (BIFAN 2025)

A Brighter Summer Day for the Lady Avengers by Birdy Wei-ting Hung – Taiwan, USA | 2024 – 12 minutes | Korean Premiere
Section: Bucheon Choice: Shorts

Taiwan, 1980s. Hot summer day, watermelon juice, and a teenage girl’s sexual awakening with her celluloid fantasies. The film shot on 16mm and follows 15-year-old Ming as she playfully explores her exhibitionist fantasies with the boy next door, blurring the line between her sexual awakening and the adult films she watches. It reclaims suppressed images of female pleasure from the martial law era, reimagining a hidden history of women as viewers. (BIFAN 2025)

Trailer:

After Dawn by Yoo Kanghyeon – Korea | 2025 – 25 minutes | World Premiere
Section: Korean Fantastic: Shorts

One summer night, Jeong-ho’s younger brother, Jeong-gi, suddenly comes and asks him to scrap the car. On the way to the junkyard, Jeong-ho almost hits a deer that suddenly appeared. Then, a familiar thump comes from the trunk. (BIFAN 2025)

Trailer:

Afternoon Guest by Kim Yuri – Korea | 2025 – 30 minutes | World Premiere
Section: Korean Fantastic: Shorts

Jong-eun, who lives in a share house, is left alone with Ho-jae, a plumber she briefly saw that morning. Jong-eun is increasingly bothered by Ho-jae. (BIFAN 2025)

Behind His Door by Lee Su-hyeon – Korea | 2025 – 22 minutes | International Premiere
Section: XL 4

A-reum hears that her mother is in critical condition. For the first time in 16 years, she returns to her hometown to take care of her reclusive brother in their mother’s place. (BIFAN 2025)
* BIFAN 2024 Goedam Short Film Production Support

Contagion by Kim Moon Su – Korea | 2025 – 23 minutes | World Premiere
Section: XL

Yoon-kyu is suffering from a terrible toothache but can’t afford timely treatment due to a lack of money. One day, while staring into the mirror in pain in a bathroom, he hears the voice of a stranger. The man asks Yoon-kyu to buy him items like toilet paper and underwear. When Yoon-kyu, flustered, refuses, the man offers him money. Desperate for cash, Yoon-kyu reluctantly accepts the offer… and begins to grow closer to someone he should never have come face to face with. (BIFAN 2025)

Couch Surfing by Wang Tien-yu – Hong Kong, China, Taiwan | 2024 – 14 minutes | International Premiere
Section: XL 4

A Japanese girl comes to Taiwan for couch surfing and finds that her host is a middle-aged man with a strange and unsettling vibe. Although she feels that the host is a bit different from what she expected, she decides to stay because of the friendly ties between Taiwan and Japan. However, as she spends more time with him, she gradually realizes the man’s terrifying intentions. Will she be able to escape safely through the night? (BIFAN 2025)

Curcumin by Park Jusang – Korea | 2025 – 18 minutes | World Premiere
Section: Korean Fantastic: Shorts

Ji-sook, a middle-aged woman living with her elderly mother, fears she will one day develop the hereditary illness passed down through the maternal line. One day, after seeing a TV program claiming curry helps with the condition, she prepares it for dinner. (BIFAN 2025)

dont.4get2smile by Stefano Pennisi – USA | 2025 – 10 minutes | World Premiere
Section: Bucheon Choice: Shorts

After receiving a chilling call about a classmate’s unexpected death, a social-media-obsessed teen is followed by a mysterious account. Worried that it’s all connected, she begins to fear that the account’s reach extends far beyond the limits of her phone screen. (BIFAN 2025)

Ever After by Helen Hideko – Austria | 2025 – 19 minutes | World Premiere
Section: Bucheon Choice: Shorts

Belly sinks further and further down into the depths of a mysterious underwater garden. Above water, she is bullied at school for not speaking the language and already having her period. At home, her mother gives her nothing but tough love. Down below is the only place she feels free. But before she can truly live and breathe in this dark fairy tale realm, she must grow the fins of a mermaid, which requires a very painful sacrifice.

Trailer:

For more information, please visit: https://www.bifan.kr/eng/