PRESS SERVICE

The 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) showcases EUROPE! VOICES OF WOMEN+ IN FILM, a dedicated label and programme for European women and genderqueer filmmakers, with the European Film Promotion (EFP) returning to the festival. Of the films officially selected by BIFF, nine are being highlighted through targeted promotion and industry networking, bringing the distinctive voices of European filmmakers to the forefront at one of Asia’s leading film festivals.

Spanning period drama, documentary and contemporary narrative films, the nine films are driven by strong political perspectives, distinctive filmmaking and bold imagination. They explore questions of freedom and responsibility, memory and history, family and intimacy, connecting personal experiences with broader social and political realities. Four of the films are feature debuts.

The programme highlights May el-Toukhy’s Woman Unknown, which won the Golden Lion for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival. Also featured are Marine Atlan’s feature debut La Gradiva; Pegah Ahangarani’s Rehearsals for a Revolution; Sandra Wollner’s Everytime, which won the Un Certain Regard Prize at the Cannes Film Festival; Margherita Ferrari’s feature debut FÖA – Once Upon a Future; Isabelle Stever’s I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming; Marie Kreutzer’s Gentle Monster; Shahrbanoo Sadat’s No Good Men; and Sarah Arnold’s feature debut Too Many Beasts. Notably, el-Toukhy became the first Danish woman filmmaker to win the Golden Lion, while Mathilde Arcel won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for the same film.

Also selected for BIFF this year are A Girl’s Story by Judith Godrèche, which will screen in Gala Presentation; My Wife Cries by Angela Schanelec; Birds of War by Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak; A Day in the Life of Jo: Chapter Phaedra by a Greek director Jacqueline Lentzou, which won the Orizzonti Award for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival; and Titanic Ocean by Konstantina Kotzamani.

Five European women filmmakers — May el-Toukhy, Judith Godrèche, Margherita Ferrari, Jacqueline Lentzou, and Konstantina Kotzamani — will attend BIFF in person to present their films and meet audiences in Busan. In particular, Judith Godrèche will engage in an in-depth conversation with Busan audiences through Cine Class ‘Women, Rewriting the Screen: A Conversation with Judith GODRÈCHE.’

BIFF and EFP will also co-host a networking event for European filmmakers and present Talk-to-Talk: Women Directors: Taking the Scene at the Roof Theater of the Busan Cinema Center. The panel will bring together Margherita Ferrari, May el-Toukhy and Jacqueline Lentzou, along with Iranian director Marjan Khosravi (Dreams of the Wild Oaks), Chinese director Michelle Zhou (Big Little Things), and Afghan director Zainab Entezar (771 Days), to share diverse perspectives on women’s experiences, voices and presence in contemporary cinema.

BIFF programmer SEO Seunghee noted, “While reviewing films for this year’s festival, I observed that films by European women directors have become increasingly prominent among the strong titles we have considered, both in number and in quality. Moreover, the fact that four of the nine invited films are feature debuts is also an indicator of the generational shift taking place in European cinema. Our ongoing collaboration with EFP has become a reliable channel for discovering and validating outstanding films and filmmakers, and the results are fully reflected in this year’s lineup. Through continued collaboration with EFP, BIFF will continue to serve as a platform for introducing outstanding European films to Asian audiences at the earliest opportunity.”

EFP’s Managing Director Irina Ignatiew-Lemke said, “With EUROPE! VOICES OF WOMEN+ IN FILM, EFP and its member organisations join forces to give distinctive European voices greater international visibility. Busan is an important platform for bringing these filmmakers and their work into dialogue with audiences and industry professionals in Asia. By combining the festival’s selection with EFP’s targeted promotion and networking, we are proud to support underrepresented voices and create opportunities for the next generation of women+ filmmakers.”

EUROPE! VOICES OF WOMEN+ IN FILM is presented in collaboration with BIFF, Sydney Film Festival and Festival do Rio, with support from Creative Europe – MEDIA Programme of the European Union. This year’s participating national film promotion organisations are Austrian Films, Cinecittà (Italy), Czech Film Center, Danish Film Institute, German Films and Unifrance, with Cineuropa as the media partner.

Bringing together women’s voices from around the world, the 31st Busan International Film Festival will take place from Oct 6 (Tue) to Oct 15 (Thu), 2026, at Busan Cinema Center and surrounding venues in Busan.