The 27th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) presents ‘New Perspectives on 21st Century Documentary’, a Special Program in Focus that will introduce 10 innovative documentaries.

- 10 Documentaries Containing Colorful Perspectives on the World! A Glimpse into the Vision of Modern Documentaries

‘New Perspectives on 21st Century Documentary’ will present fresh and unique projects that go beyond the boundaries of traditional documentaries. The selection is expected to include films that make various attempts to push the genre parameters, both aesthetically and technologically, and demonstrate the spectrum of modern documentaries.

First, selected films that implement the use of digital devices, such as smartphones and GoPro cameras, and produce bolder, experimental technological attempts are catching the attention of audiences.

Two innovative films by Verena Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor will be showcased. Leviathan (2012), which captured the dynamic movements of the ocean scenery and fishermen using a GoPro camera, and De Humani Corporis Fabrica (2022), a featured film at the 75th Cannes Film Festival that was noted for its innovative technique, which delved into the human surface and skin using a micro-camera, have both been invited to the Special Program.

Directors Ossama Mohammed and Wiam Simav Bedirxan’s Silvered Water, Syria Self-Portrait (2014), which honestly captures the distraught situation of Syria through the lens of a smartphone, and Three Sisters (2012), an observational documentary, which was characterized by its long running time and which caught the international audiences’ attention by depicting Chinese society and its double standards, directed by Wang Bing, a prominent director in the digital era, will also be screened.

The emergence of a hybrid documentary, which adds a fictional element to the documentary for an aesthetic attempt, is also garnering much excitement.

My Winnipeg (2007), directed by Canadian director, Guy Maddin, uses elaborate camerawork and the director’s own biographical story to express the history of his hometown, Winnipeg, and Cameraperson (2016), directed by Kirsten Johnson, who has blended her 25 years of experience as a documentary cinematographer into the film with video clippings of her family, will also be shown in ‘New Perspectives on 21st Century Documentary’. José Luis Guerin’s Some Photos in the City of Sylvia (2008) portrays a city landscape with black and white still images in his journey to search for a woman named Sylvia he met 22 years ago, and has also been selected to be screened in the Special Program.

World-renowned director Rithy Panh’s Everything will be OK (2022), recipient of the Silver Bear at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival, uniquely depicts the history of mankind through a dystopian puppet film; and Sacro Gra (2013) by Gianfranco Rosi, the first documentary to receive the Golden Lion at the 70th Venice International Film Festival, tells humorous stories that can be found in the lives of those around us.

In addition, THE NATURAL HISTORY OF DESTRUCTION (2022), by world-renowned, Ukrainian director, Sergei Loznitsa, has also been selected. The film deals with the British air raids on Germany during World War II and received international attention as a special premiere at the 75th Cannes Film Festival while Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was underway.

This year, a booklet on ‘New Perspectives on 21st Century Documentary’ will be published and a forum will be held under the same name. The booklet will contain film reviews of the 10 selections, critiqued by domestic and international film critics.

Renowned French film critic, Jean-Michel Frodon’s The New Horizons of Documentary in the 21st Century will be presented at the forum. Furthermore, directors Verena Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor, whose films Leviathan (2012) and De Humani Corporis Fabrica (2022) were selected for the Special Program, will be joined by Korean directors, Kim Il-rhan and Kim Jeongkeun, to form a panel that provides insights to the diverse perspectives of film professionals regarding modern documentary, and build anticipation for the Special Program.

The 27th Busan International Film Festival will be held for 10 days from Oct 5 (Wed) to Oct 14 (Fri) at the Busan Cinema Center.

Copyright © acrofan All Right Reserved