20 Films you shouldn’t miss at the 26th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (Part 1)

By Asian Film Festival on July 5, 2022 • ( 1 Comment )

These are twenty feature films you shouldn’t miss at the 26th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) which will take place online and in cinemas from July 7 – 17, 2022 in Bucheon, South Korea.

To see the second part of this article please go here: PART 2

– Selected Films – (Part 1)

**A Good Boy** by Son Kyoungwon – Korea | 2022 – 107 minutes
**Section**: Korean Fantastic – Features

Synopsis (EN) Soohyun, a fourth-year elementary school teacher, is about to get married. One day, Yohan, a student in her class, comes to Soohyun, who was busy and happy. Yohan confesses to Soohyun that he is experiencing domestic abuse. But the next day, John’s lies await Soohyun. (BIFAN 2022)

Trailer:

**After My Death** by Kim Ui-seok – Korea | 2017 – 113 minutes
**Section**: It Goes On: 39+1 KAFA Features

One day, a high school girl Kyung-min goes missing. She seemed to jump off a bridge to her death, but without a body, or a suicide note, no conclusion can be drawn. People question Young-hee who was the last person to be seen with Kyung-min on the night of her disappearance and start suspecting her of instigating Kyung-min’s death. While Young-hee keeps insisting on her innocence, no one believes her. When Kyung-min’s body finally is found, even her friends turn back from her one by one. To prove herself innocent, Young-hee makes the unexpected decision. (BIFAN 2022)

Trailer:

**Angry Son** by Iizuka Kasho – Japan | 2022 – 111 minutes
**Section**: Merry-Go-Round

Jungo, a high school student living in Ota City, Gunma Prefecture, has a Filipino mother who works at a Filipina hostess bar. His mother has never told him about his father, and the only connection he has to his father is the monthly child support payments. Jungo is homosexual and has a boyfriend, Yusuke. Even though Yusuke wanted to form a partnership with him, he was reluctant to do so because of his background.

One day, her mother, Reina, brings her boyfriend home, saying she wants to remarry with him. Jungo doesn’t want to live with a stranger, so he decides to find his real father. (BIFAN 2022)

Trailer:

**BL Metamorphosis** by Kariyama Shunsuke – Japan | 2022 – 118 minutes
**Section**: Boys, Be, Love

Yuki, a 75-year-old woman lonely after the death of her husband, comes across a “Boys’ Love” manga in the bookstore one day and buys it out of curiosity. This catches the attention of one of the bookstore clerks, Urara, a shy 17-year-old high school student with no friends. As Yuki returns to buy more manga, the two develop an odd friendship despite their 58-year-old age gap. (BIFAN 2022)

**Body Parts** by Choe Wonkyung, Jeon Byeong Deok, Lee Gwang Jin, G’sam, Kim Jang Mi, Wallly Seo – Korea | 2022 – 104 minutes – **Section**: Korean Fantastic – Features

Si-Kyung, the youngest reporter, infiltrates an unnamed religious group. Invited to a special ceremony, she witnesses strange things happening in the prayer house. Five sacrifices and five stories offered by the church members. When the story is over, she too must make a sacrifice.

EP 1. < the Reek >
A woman who cut off her own ear and committed suicide. Da-hee, who purchased the woman’s vanity table without knowing it was hers, finds a perfume in the drawer.

EP. 2 < The Boy who sees ghosts >
Junho, the son of a shaman, is bullied by the Dojin gang for one reason that he can see ghosts. To break free from this violence, he has to show them a real ghost.

EP. 3 < Exorcism.net >
Hwa-young, a high school girl, gets possessed by an evil spirit after her family’s death. Her best friends, Joo-in and Eun-gi, decide to broadcast her condition through the internet and request her exorcism ceremony.

EP. 4 < A former resident >
Jisoo, who just got her own place. On the night of the housewarming party with her colleagues, a middle-aged woman comes to knock on her door. She warns. Never take off the amulet in the house.

EP. 5 < String >
On a rainy night. Jae-seok wakes up to the sound of an alarm and realizes that a tight string is tied around his neck. (BIFAN 2022)

**Cabriolet** by Cho Kwang-jin – Korea | 2021 – 113 minutes
**Section**: Korean Fantastic – Features

Always wearing a smiley face, Jia Oh exerts herself no matter what, dreaming of a bright and shining future. But then, she is diagnosed with thymus cancer out of the blue. In spite of that, the company and her family force her hand as usual… While she is living her usual life, her friend Anna comes to see her. Anna, Jia’s role-model as the CEO of a company, suggests going on a tour around the country in a convertible the very next day but Jia refuses to go due to the pile of work she has to do and her upcoming surgery. And the day after, Jia faces the mourning portrait of Anna. Suffering from burn-out, Jia buys a ‘Cabriolet’ convertible with the money she saved up for surgery and takes off on a tour around the country. (BIFAN 2022)

**Duck Town** by Yu Ji-young – Korea | 2016 – 88 minutes
**Section**: It Goes On: 39+1 KAFA Features

Oh Hee-jung (24) was born and raised in the city of Daegu. With hopes of transferring to a university in Seoul, Hee-jung studies hard while dreaming of escaping her hometown. She works at a paddleboat rental ticketing office to save up for her tuition. One day while she dozes off onthe job, someone attempts suicide where she unintentionally watches on. When she returns to the site of the accident that night to drop a life jacket into the water, Cha Young-mok (25) catchesher red-handed. Once Young-mok gets involved in Hee-jung’s life, things start to get messy. (BIFAN 2022)

Trailer:

**Jinju’s Pearl** by Kim Lokkyoung – Korea | 2022 – 89 minutes
**Section**: Merry-Go-Round

Jinju, a film director, is a week away from filming her movie. However, she feels helpless with the most important filming location, the café, suddenly under construction. Fortunately, a friend introduces her to a 50 year old traditional café called “Samgakji coffee shop” located in Kyeongnam Jinju. She likes the “Samgakji coffee shop”…but there is a twist; the place is scheduled to be demolished. (BIFAN 2022)

**Manchurian Tiger** by Geng Jun – China | 2021 – 118 minutes
**Section**: Metal Noir

Truck driver Xu Dong has to send his beloved dog away when his pregnant wife, Meiling, approaches her due date. By coincidence, Ma Qianli, a real estate developer heavily in debt, now becomes the new dog owner. When later confronted by debt collectors, Ma has to cook the dog to treat them.Xu seeks vengeance with rage though after several failed attempts, he finds himself sympathizing with Ma’s plight and impossible to carry on with the plan. Meanwhile, Meiling finds out about Xu’s love affair. Inextinguishable hatred spreads among the three. Just like the Manchurian tiger who has grown used to being fed by the zoo keepers, people are also trapped in their mundane absurdity of life, bathing under the sun that shines through the cage. (BIFAN 2022)

Trailer:

**Noise** by Hiroki Ryuichi – Japan | 2022 – 128 minutes
**Section**: Mad MaxX

The story takes place on a remote island off the coast of the Sea of Japan. Currently suffering from a shrinking and aging population and left behind by the times, the island’s future depends on the black figs that Keita grows on his farm. This new farming endeavor is a ray of hope for the locals, as it is about to receive a sizable government grant that could revive the community. One day, a suspicious man comes to the island and begins making threatening moves towards Keita’s family. Keita enlists help from his friends Jun and Shinichiro for assistance in keeping the man away. But after a heated exchange with the crazed man, the three islanders end up killing him by accident. (BIFAN 2022)

Trailer: