This year’s edition of Asia’s largest genre film festival introduced a new category for films made with artificial intelligence. The 11-day Bucheon International Fantasy Film Festival or BIFAN in South Korea will be screening more than 200 global feature films and short films, with 15 titles participating in the AI competition. AI is the overarching theme of the film festival with an accompanying AI international conference also being held over three days.
“The main issue of this year’s BIFAN is BIFAN+ AI. Generative AI can be used as an innovative and revolutionary tool to meet the world with one’s talent through minimal expenses. I believe that with the help of generative AI an era of equal competition will come, in which imagination, not the size of budget, is the most important factor,” said festival director Shin Chul. “BiFan aims to take the lead in creating a breeding ground where our creators can take their visions to the world without being held back by budget limitations.”
The AI film category will be judged based on their artistry, technical prowess and messaging. The films in the competition have been picked from specialty AI festivals and include notable participants like South Korean director Hansl Von Kwon’s ‘One More Pumpkin,’ which won the Grand Prize and Audience Award at the Dubai AI Film Festival. Based on the story of an elderly couple living on a pumpkin farm, the film was reportedly made just over a span of five days.
Other three nominees are Park Sungwon’s “Under the Sign of the Moon,” Bae Junwon’s “Snowfall,” and Cha Sehwan’s “Final Scene.” The KRW15 million ($11,000) prizes will be chosen by a jury consisting of Ferdi Alici, Kim Tae-yong, Sten-Khristian Saluveer and Shin, the festival said.
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The AI International Conference will have keynote speeches from: Professor Lee Jinjoon, the first full-time art faculty member at new media art with the Korean Adavanced Institute of Science and Technology or KAIST and inaugural director of the KAIST Art Museum; Saluveer, head of Cannes NEXT at the Cannes Film Festival; artist and curator Alici; and Dave Clarke, the director of Curious Refuge.
While AI film festivals are held across the world now, this is the first time an AI film category has been a part of a bigger film festival.
In May, a horror film called ‘Late Night with the Devil,’ faced widespread criticism after it became apparent that AI had been used in a few scenes. The film had to face the prospect of a boycott even though it didn’t happen eventually.
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