The 26th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has confirmed four jury members for New Currents, which is a competition section for new Asian films.

New Currents is a main BIFF section that introduces the first or second feature films of emerging directors, who will lead the future of Asian cinema. Beginning with the first edition in 1996, New Currents, which has showcased new Asian directors’ works including those from Korea, has drawn the attention of the global film industry by introducing cinematic works of ambitious spirit. New Currents is a competition section in which four members of the jury select two of the best feature films and award each film a prize of USD 30,000.

Deepa Mehta, an international master director born in India, was appointed as head of the jury for the BIFF New Currents Award. Mehta, who appeared on the global cinema scene when she received the Caméra d'Or Special Distinction at the Cannes Film Festival in 1991 with her first feature film Sam & Me, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (currently Best International Feature Film) in 2007 with her film Water (2005). She is active in various fields, such as participating in the production of Leila (2019), a Netflix Original Series.

Other members of the jury include Cristina Nord, the head of the Berlinale Forum; Jang Joonhwan, who took domestic and international film festivals by storm with the film, Save the Green Planet! (2003), and received the Daejong Film Awards (the Grand Bell Awards) for Best Director, and the Blue Dragon Awards for Best Feature in 2018 with the film 1987: When the Day Comes (2017); and director Jeong Jae-eun, who made an impressive first appearance in the Korean film society with her first feature debut, Take Care of My Cat (2001), and is currently expanding her horizons to include documentaries and exhibitions. Take Care of My Cat was also selected as one of the 10 Best Asian Films by Female Directors, ‘Wonder Women Movie.’

The 26th BIFF will be held for ten days from October 6th (Wed) to October 15th (Fri). The two recipients of the New Currents Awards will be announced at the closing ceremony.

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