Key Questions for Contemporary Cinema Across Industry, AI, Policy, and Region
A Conversation on New Possibilities Amid the Changes Facing Cinema
Held as part of the 31st BIFF International Film Festival, this forum will examine where cinema stands today amid rapid change in the industry, technology, and the policy landscape, under the theme ‘Exploring the Possibilities of Contemporary Cinema’. Organized into four thematic strands — Industry, AI & Creation, Institutions & Policy, and Region & Environment — the forum will explore these questions across eight sessions, ranging from mid-budget films and Asian animation to generative AI, filmmakers’ rights and public support for film festivals, and regional film policy and the green transition.
Vanishing Mid-Budget Films, Rising Animation — A Changed Theatrical Landscape
As Korean mid-budget films gradually disappear from a struggling theatrical market, Asian animation — particularly from Japan and China — is emerging as a new box-office driver. ‘The Vanishing Middle: Can Mid-Budget Films Cross Borders?’ asks whether international co-production can offer a new path for mid-budget films, while ‘The Rise of Asian Animation: What Will It Take?’ explores the possibilities for the Korean animation industry amid Asian animation’s remarkable ascent.
Who Makes Films in the Age of AI? — From the Possibilities of Technology to the Place of the Human
As generative AI spreads across every stage of filmmaking, attention is shifting beyond the technology itself to creative agency and the role of the artist. While Forum BIFF’s session, ‘The Future of AI Cinema: Can AI and Artists Coexist?’, examines the new relationship between technology and art, Dongseo University’s ‘New Creativity in the Age of AI: Questioning the Place of the Human’ takes this discussion further by examining the role of humans and the meaning of creativity.
What Sustains Korean Cinema — Filmmakers’ Rights and Public Support for Film Festivals
The forum also turns to the people and institutions that make it possible for films to be made and reach audiences. ‘We Are All Fighting to Keep Creating: Rights and Sustainability in Film’, organized by the Korean Filmmakers’ Solidarity, focuses on filmmakers’ rights, including contracts, compensation, and copyright, while ‘How Should Film Festival Support Change in the New Film Policy Environment?’, presented by the Film Festival Policy Network, brings together diverse views on the public role of film festivals and a stable framework for supporting them.
How Does Busan, City of Film, Sustain Itself? — Questions of Governance and the Green Transition
Finally, Forum BIFF turns its attention to Busan, City of Film. ‘New Governance for Regional Cinema: How Can the Field and the Administration Move Forward Together?’, presented by the Busan Film Policy Network, examines how the public and private sectors can work together in regional film policy, while ‘Green Film Transition: From Carbon Reduction to Sustainable Cinema Ecosystems’, organized by the UNESCO Creative City of Film Busan, considers the role Busan, City of Film, can take on — and the practical possibilities it can pursue — in the age of climate crisis.
From shifts in industry and technology to questions of people and institutions, regions and the environment, Forum BIFF 2026 will bring together diverse questions from across the field around a single overarching theme: the possibilities of contemporary cinema? It is expected to serve as a space for dialogue where participants can share their experiences and perspectives, reflect on where cinema stands today, and discuss the possibilities ahead.
