These are thirty feature films you shouldn’t miss from the Busan International Film Festival which is taking place from September 17 – 26, 2025 in Busan, South Korea.

5 Centimeters Per Second by Okuyama Yoshiyuki – Japan | 2025 – 123 minutes | World Premiere

Takaki tells the story of his life as changing times test his romantic feelings. (Mubi)

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Back Home by Tsai Ming-Liang – Taiwan | 2025 – 66 minutes

Tsai Ming-liang’s feature documents Days star Anong Houngheuangsy and his home village in Laos, an atmospheric series of landscapes on which the filmmaker exercises his uncommon talents for color, space, and movement. (Mubi)

Be My Baby by Yoo Jong-seok – Korea | 2025 – 98 minutes | World Premiere

Seorim (Kang Hae-rim), who works in a hospital’s administration office, is cornered financially. She can’t afford her insurance premiums, has fallen into the clutches of private lenders, and is on the run. To make matters worse, her live-in boyfriend cheats on her and leaves, and she has no one to lean on. As if that weren’t enough, Seorim unexpectedly encounters Sumi (Bae Gang-hee), who is entangled in the death of her twin sister Heerim (also played by Kang Hae-rim). (HONG Eunmi)

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BEAUTIFUL DREAMER by Lee Kwang-kuk – Korea | 2025 – 109 minutes | World Premiere

In-seon, still holding on to her late husband’s ashes three years after his suicide, decides it’s finally time to let him go. But when her daughter, Su-yeon, returns home and resists the idea, In-seon begins to question her decision. As tensions mount, Su-yeon tries to reclaim the ashes—only to accidentally shatter the urn. With no other choice, mother and daughter must confront their long-buried grief… and say their final goodbye on a bright, sunny day.

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Becoming Human by Polen Ly – Cambodia | 2025 – 99 minutes

Thida, the spirit guardian of an old cinema facing demolition, must confront her existence as a ghost and the choice of rebirth. When she meets Hai, a living human with whom she forms a deep bond, their connection forces her to face the realities of a country undergoing profound social changes. (Mubi)

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Coming of Age by Jeong – Seung-o – Korea | 2025 – 105 minutes | World Premiere

Captures a family sharing a moment after the head of the house is diagnosed with cancer, confronting emotional baggage from the past and healing each other’s wounds.

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Dear Juhee by Jang Juhee, Bu Seongpil. Kim Seonghwan – Korea | 2025 – 96 minutes | World Premiere

After recovering from leukemia, Jang Juhee, who once dreamed of becoming a filmmaker, begins working at a center for independent living for people with disabilities. There, she meets documentary director Bu Seongpil, disabled and bedridden Seon Cheol-gyu, and In-sook, who lost a family member in the Sewol ferry tragedy. Shaped by childhood memories of domestic violence and years of illness-induced isolation, Jang’s gaze and inner world begin to expand through these individuals.

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Dear X by Lee Eungbok, Park Sohyeon – Korea | 2025 – 110 minutes | World Premiere

Another irresistibly captivating femme fatale makes her entrance: Baek A-jin (Kim Youjung), a sociopathic character blessed with both striking beauty and razor-sharp intellect. She manipulates the men around her, using them to eliminate every obstacle in her path one by one. From childhood, she has hidden her chilling nature behind a flawlessly composed face, carving out her way forward with unmatched cruelty and precision. Amid a nightmarish home life and harsh school days, her tactical cunning and extraordinary acting skills in disposing of her ‘Target X’ list are astonishing—but the true thrill comes from the catharsis delivered each time an even more vile target falls before her.  (HONG Eunmi)

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En Route To by Yoo Jaein – Korea | 2025 – 106 minutes | World Premiere

Yoon-ji, a first-year high school student, is pregnant from a secret affair with her homeroom teacher, Jong-seong. Jong-seong is unreachable and hasn′t shown up at school for days. His wife, Min-yeong, has stormed into the school looking for her husband and even filed a missing person′s report. Unlike Jong-seong, who did not want the child, Yoon-ji had hoped to give birth and finally have a family of her own. Now, she firmly believes that if she just gets rid of the baby, Jong-seong will return. She illegally obtains pills, seeks out a veterinary clinic, and attempts to terminate the pregnancy. Her roommate, Kyeong-seon, accompanies her on this anxious, uncomfortable, and unsettling journey. (JEONG Jihye)

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Exit 8 by Kawamura Genki – Japan | 2025 – 95 minutes

A man gets lost in an underground passage. He follows the “guide” through the passage, but one after another, strange things happen to him. Is this space real? Or an illusion? Will the man be able to escape the passage? (Mubi)

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Girl by Shu Qi – Taiwan | 2025 – 124 minutes

A young girl finds solace in her friendship with another girl of a similar name, who embodies the dreams she has suppressed. However, her aspirations are challenged by her mother’s past, which mirrors her own struggles and traps her in a cycle of despair. (Mubi)

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Hana Korea by Frederik Sølberg – Denmark, Korea | 2025 – 103 minutes | World Premiere

A North Korean defector experiences democracy, freedom and modern life at a resettlement facility, learning about using credit cards and other aspects unfamiliar to her.

Have You Seen the Land of the Red? by Hong Youngah – Korea | 2025 – 120 minutes | World Premiere

Nicknamed the ‘heart of conservatives,’ Gyeongsangbuk-do (North Gyeongsang Province) is the conservative stronghold of Korean politics, having not elected a single liberal Democratic Party member to the National Assembly in the past 30 years. From the 2022 local elections to the 2024 general election, TV-writer-turned-filmmaker Hong Youngah documents the uphill battle of Democratic Party candidates, clad in signature blue jackets, in this ‘land of the red.’ Despite facing certain defeat, gubernatorial candidate Lim Mi-ae, her husband and fellow candidate Kim Hyun-kwon, as well as other candidates and campaigners, steadfastly maintain upbeat spirits against overwhelming odds as they hand out business cards to disgruntled passersby, shake lots of hands, and dance during street campaigns. Through their hopeless fight, a political David versus Goliath, this film questions the undertaking of a challenge that is destined to fail, while laying bare the harsh realities of local elections and Korean politics where hope and despair are intertwined. (JO Ji-hoon)

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Human Resource by Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit – Thailand | 2025 – 122 minutes

A drama that explores contemporary human life amid a global decline in birth rates.

It Was Just an Accident by Jafar Panahi – Iran, France, Luxembourg | 2025 – 103 minutes

Vahid, an Azerbaijani auto mechanic, was once imprisoned by Iranian authorities. During his sentence, he was interrogated blindfolded. One day, a man named Eghbal enters his workshop. His prosthetic leg creaks, and Vahid thinks he recognizes one of his former torturers. (Mubi)

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