These are twenty films that you shouldn’t miss at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival which is taking place in cinemas and online from July 8th – 18th, 2021, in Bucheon, South Korea.

About the festival:
The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) aims to consolidate its identity as a ‘Fantastic Film Festival’ through Fantastic-Genre films and to provide a new and diverse aspects toward Genre film. BIFAN also encourages the understanding of different cultures through the art of fantastic films and facilitates exchange of ideas among film industry professionals from all around the world and those from Korea. Furthermore, the Festival promotes including but not limited to the production and distribution of fantastic films.

– Selected Films –

One day, young couples went to a camping site for a getaway. However, little did they know the risk they were getting into. All the fun games suddenly disappeared when a madman came out of nowhere and threatened them with a slaughter knife. The couples found themselves a hiding place in the deep forest of the black mountain to avoid the unwanted wild foresters… The sudden appearance of a suspicious guys also startled the couples… “Familiar devils are better than unfamiliar devils! From now on you can experience the real fear of blood!” (BIFAN 2021)

Schedule:
Friday, 9 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 4 | 16:30 pm
Tuesday, 13 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 4 | 10:30 am

Joo Sung wants to be a fabulous action movie star like Jakie Chan, even though he is just an ordinary college student. One day Joosung meets a nerd, Chanyeol in the filmmaking class and they decide to making a film as a project. They found a threatening letter to prof Cha by chance during their project. “I know you are involved in the admission fraud. To keep this fact out of the press, put a bag of 30 million won in cash in the trash bin at the university waste disposal until tomorrow…” After reading this letter, Joosung decide to use this letter story to making his film. And all things getting massed up because of his plan. (BIFAN 2021)

Schedule:
Saturday, 10 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 4 | 16:30 pm
Tuesday, 13 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 4 | 16:30 pm

Trailer:

As We Like It, a reworking of Shakespeare’s play, tells of the love blossoming between Orlando and Rosalind, who is disguised as a man. Filmmakers opted for an entirely female cast, thereby referencing Shakespeare’s era when women were banned from the stage. All set in an internet-free neighborhood in the bustling metropolis of Taipei, the film upends the binary world, making it a loving spectacle with plenty of music and doll-like design. (BIFAN 2021)

Schedule:
Sunday, 11 July 2021 | City Hall, Main Theatre (2F) | 10:30 am

Trailer:

Kato, the owner of Cafe Phalam in front of Kyoto’s Nijo Station, goes back to his apartment above the cafe after finishing up work for the day. When he is about to play his guitar, Kato himself from the future suddenly appears on his TV screen and begins speaking. The TV in Kato’s room and the TV in the cafe below are somehow connected with a time difference of two minutes. (BIFAN 2021)

Schedule:
Friday, 9 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 5 | 19:30 pm
Monday, 12 July 2021 | City Hall, Fantastic Cube (1F) | 11:00 am

Trailer:

For the past five years following Li-wei’s death, his boyfriend Lyn has been looking after his ill mother, Mrs. Chou, and 9-year-old son, Yo-yu, living together like a family. When Mrs. Chou passes away, her property is transferred to Yo-yu, who has been legally adopted by Lin. Mrs. Chou’s other son Li-gang contacts the police, accusing Lin of killing his mother.  As the ensuing investigation continues, more and more evidence mounts against Lin. (BIFAN 2021)

Schedule:
Friday, 9 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 9 | 17:00 pm
Tuesday, 13 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 10 | 17:00 pm

Trailer:

Sora dreams of being an idol star, Kyung Ho dreams of becoming a boxing champion. Sora & Kyung Ho went to a gym for different reasons. Sora needed to be in shape to be an idol star but Kyung Ho needed a place to make money and train himself. They become closer through sharing their different dreams and stories. (BIFAN 2021)

Schedule:
Friday, 9 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 10 | 11:00 am
Tuesday, 13 July 2021 | City Hall, Main Theater (2F) | 19:30 pm

Skill, beauty and personality, “Diving Diva” Lee-young has it all. Not being able to be with her best friend Su-jin is the only thing that gets in her way. While pouring everything into the Olympics selection practice, Su-jin and Lee-young are involved in a freak car accident. Su-jin disappears without a trace, while Lee-young survives but loses her memory. Lee-young’s memory slowly comes back to her but remembers the strange side of Su-jin. Her iron will begin to shake on the diving board. (BIFAN 2021)

Schedule:
Monday, 12 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 4 | 19:30 pm

Trailer:

Jung-hoo finds ‘Young’ resembling his mother’s back in the sea and takes a picture. Through Jung-hu’s friend, Young learns photography from Jeong-hu’s father. Afterwards, Sang-il dies of an illness and ‘Young’ leaves Jeong-hu’s side. (BIFAN 2021)

Schedule:
Sunday, 11 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 4 | 13:30 pm
Wednesday, 14 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 4 | 10:30 am

As the community quarantine puts the nation on hold, a political science major and a student working part time as a delivery driver butt heads online – but soon find themselves falling for each other. Will their love survive once it’s taken offline? (BIFAN 2021)

Schedule:
Saturday, 10 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 10 | 17:00 pm
Thursday, 15 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 8 | 10:30 am

Trailer:

Years after the Irako-kai boss deceased, two of the rival syndicates conclude a so-called “peace” treaty. Uebayashi, a yakuza who is sick of this familiarity, shows no mercy even to the seniors of his own syndicate. Police Detective, Hioka utilizes any means to stop his devilish act. (BIFAN 2021)

Schedule:
Sunday, 11 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 5 | 19:30 pm
Tuesday, 13 July 2021 | City Hall, Main Theater (2F) | 13:30 pm

Twenty-seven-year-old Yuji moved to Tokyo with dreams of becoming an actor but his life is stalled. One day he remembers his larger-than-life friend Sasaki after meeting up with high school buddy Toda. Inspired by a story from actor Hosokawa Gaku’s high school days, Sasaki in My Mind looks head-on at adolescent sparkle and the pathos of bygone days. (BIFAN 2021)

Schedule:
Friday, 9 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 11 | 14:00 pm
Monday, 12 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 5 | 16:30 pm

Trailer:

Ching, a forensic psychiatrist with a special power that can see into people’s subconscious space, discovers that a social worker is compelled by an inner voice to kill his family and commit suicide. Suspecting his former psychiatrist, Ching collaborates with a cop to investigate, which leads to a revelation from her own traumatized past, and casts a doubt over her motivation. (BIFAN 2021)

Schedule:
Monday, 12 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 9 | 14:00 pm
Wednesday, 14 July 2021 | City Hall, Fantastic Cube (1F) | 20:00 pm

Trailer:

Teban, a troubled teen who recently got out of jail for petty theft, moves to tenement 66 with his older brother Tony and cousin Ron-ron, hoping to start a new life away from the people who influenced him to commit crimes. But soon find out that there are far more sinister figures at the tenement whose crimes are worse than they could have imagined. (BIFAN 2021)

Schedule:
Friday, 9 July 2021 | City Hall, Main Theatre (2F) | 13:30 pm
Monday, 12 July 2021 | City Hall, Fantastic Cube (1F) | 20:00 pm

Trailer:

On a dark stormy night, a young witness to her father’s crime disappears on an island leaving her shoes on the cliff and her last will in her house. Due to the bad weather, a body has yet to be found. In the absence of the body, the case cannot be closed, but is simply dismissed as suicide. Detective Hyun-soo heads to the island to investigate the mysterious death of the girl. Tracing back the girl’s last day, we get closer to the truth. (BIFAN 2021)

Schedule:
Wednesday, 14 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 4 | 19:30 pm

Trailer:

A year after her best friend Jina has gone missing from playing “The Elevator Game” the abandoned hospital, Trang confronts her step-father Son for having an affair with Jina before her death. Urged by her cousin Ngoc, Trang leaves her apartment to the abandoned hospital to find her step-father. But when Ngoc tries to play the game, she vanishes, too. Trang is left alone with no choice but to play the game to save her family. (BIFAN 2021)

Schedule:
Monday, 12 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 11 | 17:00 pm
Wednesday, 14 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 10 | 20:00 pm

Trailer:

A documentary team follows Nim, a shaman based in Northern Thai, the Isan area, and encounters her niece Mink showing strange symptoms that seem to be of inheritance of shamanism. The team decides to follow Mink, hoping to capture the shaman lineage passing on to the next generation, but her bizarre behavior becomes more extreme. (BIFAN 2021)

Schedule:
Saturday, 10 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 8 | 19:30 pm
Sunday, 11 July 2021 | City Hall, Main Theater (2F) | 13:30 pm
Tuesday, 13 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 4 | 19:30 pm

Trailer:

Every year, Nana Sasaki and her former classmates hold a reunion of their high school music club. This year, the reunion is being held online. However, one of them, Ayumi doesn’t show up. When the others voice their concern, Yuki and Suzu reluctantly tell them about the Samejima Incident, an urban legend which circulated on the internet 20 years earlier. Those who find the truth about it become cursed and die. As Nana and the others start to panic, the real horror begins. (BIFAN 2021)

Schedule:
Saturday, 10 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 9 | 20:00 pm
Wednesday, 14 July 2021 | City Hall, Main Theater (2F) | 19:30 pm

Trailer:

Yoon Young-hwa, once a top national news anchor, gets demoted to radio news. One day, a call comes in during his radio show threatening to blow up Mapo Bridge. While it is brushed off as a prank call, the bridge ends up getting blown to pieces. To get his career back on track, Yoon tries to grab an exclusive live broadcast. The terrorist demands a hefty sum in exchange and the exclusive gets aired. (BIFAN 2021)

Schedule:
Sunday, 11 July 2021 | City Hall, Fantastic Cube (1F) | 13:30 pm

Trailer:

The Kowloon Industrial District is home to many of Hong Kong’s artists, including rapper Heyo, YouTuber Alan, rising star Hana, and dancer Dave. However, the government is preparing the area for gentrification. The group from “The Way We Dance” is invited to participate in a publicity stunt to transform the district into a “Dance Street.” Meanwhile, Heyo’s master Afuc is planning a revolution. (BIFAN 2021)

Schedule:
Monday, 12 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 11 | 17:00 pm
Thursday, 15 July 2021 | City Hall, Fantastic Cube(1F) | 19:30 pm

Trailer:

Feng, a corrupted police officer, ordered to retrieve the diamonds within 48hrs, arrives at a remote village, following the mobile signal of his partner Chiang who stole the diamonds from the gang. While Feng and his men try to find Chiang in the village, they encounter the locals who seem naive but suspicious, and a ghost full of stories. Remake of a renowned Korean film To Catch A Virgin Ghost(2004). (BIFAN 2021)

Schedule:
Sunday, 11 July 2021 | City Hall, Main Theater (2F) | 17:00 pm
Tuesday, 13 July 2021 | CGV Sopung 10 | 11:00 am

For more information please go to: http://www.bifan.kr/eng