PRESS SERVICE

KIM Jong-kwan’s The Table: Day and Night to Open the 31st BIFF

The 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), has officially selected The Table: Day and Night, directed by KIM Jong-kwan, as its Opening Film for the 2026 edition.

Director KIM Jong-kwan’s New Feature to World Premiere in Busan

Four Unique Love Stories Unfolding  in a Single Place Across Day and Night

The Table: Day and Night follows four couples as they experience different moments of love at a single café from summer to autumn, unfolding through lively, understated, and tender conversations. The film follows the chance encounter between Yoo-jin (KIM Minha) and Hyeon-oh (JOO Jong-hyuk), who visit the same café at different times of the day; the unexpected reunion between Sang-mi (HAN Sun-hwa) and Young-min (CHANG Ryul), who were friends in middle school; a spark of creative chemistry between web novelist Hye-jin (SHIM Eun-kyung) and indie filmmaker Dong-nam (LEE Hee-jun); and a bittersweet moment between idol trainee Na-kyeong (JEON So-young) and her boyfriend Jong-su (KIM Dong-hwi). Emphasizing the café’s inherent nature as a space where strangers continuously come and go, the film captures each character’s story, personality, mood, and nuances through brisk pacing and a thoughtful gaze.

Director Kim Jong-kwan quickly emerged as a promising filmmaker with a gift for delicate emotional storytelling after winning the Jury’s Special Prize at the Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival for his debut short, How to Operate a Polaroid Camera (2004). Following his short films Slowly (2005) and Phantoms of the Archive (2014), he made his feature-length debut with Come, Closer (2010), and later solidified his position as a director when Worst Woman (2016) won the FIPRESCI Prize at the Moscow International Film Festival. He has continuously expanded his singular cinematic world through diverse feature films —including The Table (2017), Josée (2020), and Shades of the Heart (2021) — as well as collaborative omnibus projects alongside other directors, such as the Netflix original series Persona (2019), Vestige (2022), and The Killers (2024).

This year’s BIFF Opening Film, The Table: Day and Night, once again unfolds four distinct stories set within a single space, following The Table (2017), which was selected for Korean Cinema Today – Panorama at BIFF 2016. Highlighting the film’s artistic merit, BIFF noted, “The Table: Day and Night is an elegant and assured film in which the cinematic interests, style, perspective, and world that Kim Jong-kwan has persistently explored as a filmmaker reach a provisional culmination. Without relying on excessive setups or dramatic turns, it greatest merit lies in how thoughtfully it captures the unique inner voices and emotions of its character, as well as the subtle shifts in their relationships. Featuring a strong ensemble cast—including Kim Minha, Joo Jong-hyuk, Han Sun-hwa, Chang Ryul, Shim Eun-kyung, Lee Hee-jun, Jeon So-young and Kim Dong-hwi—the film brings together acclaimed performers and promising newcomers, showcasing their chemistry and ensemble performances to full effect. For its vibrant yet grounded tone, The Table: Day and Night has been selected as the Opening Film for the 31st Busan International Film Festival.”

The Table: Day and Night will screen as the Opening Film of the 31st Busan International Film Festival, which runs from Oct 6 (Tue) to Oct 15 (Thu).

■ KIM Jong-kwan Korea | Director

Making his debut with the acclaimed short film How to Operate a Polaroid Camera (2004), Kim Jong-kwan directed numerous short films that won several awards at domestic and international film festivals. Following his feature debut Come, Closer (2010), he directed a series of celebrated features, including Worst Woman (2016), The Table (2017), Josée (2020), and Shades of the Heart (2021). He has also contributed to collaborative omnibus projects, directing Walking at Night, one of the segments of the Netflix original series Persona (2019), as well as Vestige (2022) and The Killers (2024). He is preparing for the domestic release of Frosted Window, and the world premiere of The Table: Day and Night at BIFF.

▶31st Busan International Film Festival: Oct 6 (Tue) – Oct 15 (Thu)

▶21st Asian Contents & Film Market: Oct 10 (Sat) – Oct 13 (Tue)