These are fifteen films you shouldn’t miss at the 16th Busan International Kids & Youth Film Festival which will take place from July 5th – 12th, 2021 in Busan, South Korea.

About the festival:
BIKY is the one of the best festivals that has provided a venue for children and teenagers to communicate through various films from all around world. BIKY has one competition called ‘Ready~Action!’ for films directed by children and teenagers. BIKY aims to discover films by young directors and develop new contents in the relevant fields for the future.

– Selected Films –

In middle school, Xing sends love letters to a girl but never gets a reply. Meanwhile, his parents’ relationship quietly begins to crack after his father’s leave. Xing’s friend Guang is a shy teen gangster. He wishes to practice handwriting and get rid of hooligan life. But he loses the chance after injuring someone in a fight. Xing’s grandfather passes away at the eve of new millennium. In grandfather’s testament, he encourages Xing to unremittingly strive to be a better man. (BIKY 2021)

Schedule:
Wednesday, 7 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Cinema 1| 15:50 pm
Friday, 9th July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Cinema 1 | 18:00 pm

Julia and Antonio’s lives change completely when their little daughter Ema, diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, reaches school age and they have to move to a humble coast town at the shores of the Paraná river, where the only school that accepted her application lies. The family decides to move to Cerro Hueso for the good of Ema. Bit by bit she starts to stay more time alone. Irene, Sonia’s granddaughter, the school’s caretaker, feels an immense curiosity for this girl that doesn’t speak. Irene adopts a protective role and between the two a friendship begins. (BIKY 2021)

Schedule:
Wednesday, 7 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Cinematheque | 10:00 am

Headstrong girl Kenza lives with her father Ouira and grandfather Weljo on a car wrecking yard in the countryside of Curaçao. Ouira is a determined and rational police officer, while Weljo identifies with the original inhabitants and spirituality of the island. As Weljo wishes to prepare his passing to the world of spirits, the relationship between Ouira and Weljo starts to escalate and the eleven-year-old Kenza searches for her own path in-between the two extremes. The down-to-earth and avoidant mentality of Ouira no longer offers her all that she needs and slowly she opens up to the more mystical and comforting traditions of her grandfather. (BIKY 2021)

Schedule:
Tuesday, 6 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Haneulyeon Theatre | 15:00 pm
Monday, 12 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Haneulyeon Theatre | 17:20 pm

Trailer:

CLEANERS is a coming-of-age anthology film about high school student cleaners from a rural catholic school in 2008. These students struggle with different societal pressures of being clean, proper and pure while they discover that the world is dirty and superficial to begin with. The stories range from the taboo of pooping in school to navigating local political dynasties. (BIKY 2021)

Schedule:
Wednesday, 7 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Cinema 2 | 16:00 pm
Monday, 12 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Cinema 2 | 18:00 pm

Trailer:

There are many first times for 14-year-old Nora. She gets her period for the first time, smokes marijuana, discovers her love for other girls and meets the wild Romy. With her, the noisy area of Kreuzberg suddenly seems endlessly large and full of hidden beauty. While the heat sticks to her skin, Nora loses her heart to the wild Romy and learns to stand up for herself. (BIKY 2021)

Schedule:
Friday, 9 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Cinematheque | 18:20 pm
Sunday, 11 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Indieplus | 16:10 pm

Trailer:

Daniel, a German teenager, is sent to Greece, in a juvenile offender community, to serve his sentence. There, in an abandoned village of Evros river area, near the border with Turkey, he experiences unprecedented emotions and has to solve difficult dilemmas… His final decision will surprise everyone. (BIKY 2021)

Schedule:
Wednesday, 7 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Indieplus | 10:30 am
Friday, 9 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Cinema 1 | 13:00 pm

Trailer:

An 11-year-old boy who lives alone with his father in the barren, muddy outskirts of a Buenos Aires province small town. Over a week, Delfín wakes up early every morning to go to work, falls asleep in class, goes fishing frogs with friends, spies on a young teacher for whom he feels a fascination that can hardly understand. Delfín wants to participate in a Children’s Orchestra that is being formed in a neighboring village. His ageing music teacher taught him to play the French horn, and Delfín will do the impossible to show up for the audition. This will mean an adventure for him and also for his father. (BIKY 2021)

Schedule:
Tuesday, 6 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Cinema 1 | 10:00 am
Friday, 9 July 2021 | Buk-gu District of Busan CGV Hwamyeong | 14:00 pm

Trailer:

A seventh grader Kira hangs out with three other delinquent teenagers. He ends up killing Itsuki, who he has been bullying. But Kira is not prosecuted in juvenile court, for the judges conclude that the evidence is insufficient. People on SNS and some YouTubers start to chase Kira. The community urges him to transfer to another school. Kira’s father is fired from work. After six months, Kira lives in another town, but his life is never settled. It turns out that Kira was a victim of bullying when he was in elementary school.

Schedule:
Wednesday, 7 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Indieplus | 10:30 am
Sunday, 11 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Indieplus | 16:10 pm

Trailer:

In a fishing village lives a creature with the body of a pig, the nose of an elephant, ears of a horse, and feet like a rhinoceros. Every night as people lie in slumber, it sneaks into the village and devours their nightmares! Ah Keat’s father has always recounted the story of when he came across the mythical creature in the forest as a child. Ah Keat is doubtful about the story but has always looked forward to the day he can see the creature for himself. But his father dies in an accident at sea one day, and his family is so busy with the funeral they are unable to help the young boy with understanding his father’s death. When Ah Keat learns of the sudden news that he will be leaving the village to live with his long-estranged mother in Taipei, he sets off in search of the mythical creature in hopes that it can help find his father… (BIKY 2021)

Schedule:
Thursday, 8 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Cinematheque | 13:30 pm
Sunday, 11 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Haneulyeon Theatre | 13:30 pm

Lucía, a Yoreme (indigenous) girl in Northern Mexico, dreams of healing her father´s broken heart by playing the harp, which is traditionally played only by men in her community. (BIKY 2021)

Schedule:
Thursday, 8 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Cinema 1 | 10:00 am
Friday, 9 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Indieplus | 14:00 pm

Trailer:

As far back as Yamil can remember, the war was always. But Yamil is waiting for its end, because then his Father, known to the boy only through photos and letters, will be back home. One day his Mother goes to a distant city and brings a silent girl Oksana. Mother also brings his Father’s order to take care of Oksana as if she were his sister… (BIKY 2021)

Schedule:
Wednesday, 7 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Indieplus | 14:00 pm
Saturday, 10 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Indieplus | 11:00 am
Monday, 12 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Cinematheque | 14:00 pm

Trailer:

14-year-old Leigh lives with her neglectful father on the outskirts of Brighton. She’s a talented gymnast, training hard for her first competition despite her lack of confidence, some bitchy fellow gymnasts and little money to pay for her fees. When an older half-brother appears at her house one night, Leigh’s lonely existence is altered. Mistrust gradually transforms into exciting new feelings as Leigh receives the attention she craves. But she is also exposed to the thrill and danger of moped crime. (BIKY 2021)

Schedule:
Wednesday, 7 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Haneulyeon Theatre | 13:10 pm
Friday, 9 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Indieplus | 18:30 pm

Trailer:

So-jung, Yeon-woo and Song-hee, just becoming a middle school students, and Shi-yeon, transferred to the same middle school right before the summer break,　meet in a school photo club. The photo club teacher gives out a disposable film camera and asks kids to take a picture of the end of the world as a vacation homework. Children who weren’t interested in the homework kept putting off their homework to the end, but one day, they finally went to Sinchang Station, the final station of Subway Line 1. However, as they found the landscape is different from what they expected, they gradually come far from the end of the world and fall into a wrong path. In an unfamiliar space, the children tell stories that they couldn’t usually share.

Schedule:
Friday, 9 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Indieplus | 10:30 am
Saturday, 10 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Cinema 2 | 17:00 pm

Trailer:

In New Bedford Massachusetts, a dysfunctional family portrayed in all shades of black-and-white, lead forgotten lives. One eventful summer, in an act of liberation, the kids Billie and Nico set off on their own adventure into the fantastic and poetic world of childhood, unseen by the adults around them.

Schedule:
Thursday, 8 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Indieplus | 13:30 pm
Saturday, 10 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Cinema 2 | 14:20 pm
Monday, 12 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Cinematheque | 16:30 pm

Trailer:

Deaf teenager Chang Cheng transfers to a school for children with special needs. However, the world of the hearing-impaired doesn’t seem quiet at all. When Chang witnesses the “game” taking place in the last row on the school bus, his excitement about blending into a new environment immediately turns into fear.

Schedule:
Saturday, 10 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Cinematheque | 15:00 pm
Monday, 12 July 2021 | Busan Cinema Center Cinema 1 | 17:40 pm

Trailer:

For more information about the festival please go to: http://www.biky.or.kr