Columbia Filmmakers Dazzled at Busan Film Festival

The 2026 Busan International Film Festival, which ran this fall from October 6 through October 20, featured a slate of films by Columbia filmmakers. The festival is one of the top film events in Asia, and is an Oscar-qualifying event. 

This year, according to the BIFF website, “BIFF was officially recognized by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) as an ‘A-list festival’,  joining the ranks of major international film festivals including Cannes, Berlin, and Venice.” This makes it one of six international festivals that qualifies for the Academy Awards. 

Read more below about the Columbia filmmakers who had their work screened at the event. 

Gu Shi 

Gu Shi is a film written and directed by Amie Song '26, produced by Joyce Yueyi Xing '21 and executive produced by Associate Professor Anocha Suwichakornpong '06. It ran as part of the festival’s “A Window on Asian Cinema” block, featuring work specifically from Asian filmmakers. Gu Shi tells the story of a family taking refuge in an isolated house, waiting for the end of an unspecified crisis. While the older sister, plagued by nightmares, sinks into a deep slumber, her younger brother suffers a head injury from an accident. To the siblings who appear to suffer from a hereditary illness that causes memory loss, all the parents can do is to tell them the same old stories again and again. The film made its premiere at the 83rd Annual Venice Film Festival. The Busan International Film Festival marked its Asian premiere. 

By Any Means

By Any Means is a film directed by Elegance Bratton (GS '14), and it screened as part of the festival’s World Cinema selections. The film is set in 1966 Mississippi where Vernon Dahmer, a prominent Civil Rights Activist, is killed. With the unofficial approval of the FBI director, Black FBI agent Wayne teams up with Scarpa, a mafia hitman, played by Mark Wahlberg, to investigate the case. By Any Means is based on a riveting true story. 

Flesh Impact 

Flesh Impact, written and directed by Academy Award nominee Maggie Gyllenhaal (CC '99), screened as part of the Special Screenings and Carte Blanche block. In this subsection of Special Screenings, well known filmmakers are asked to select a film to screen that had a major impact in forming their artistic sensibilities. Flesh Impact tells the story of a mysterious elderly woman who auditions at a small New York City black box theater. As she shares her acting credentials and experience, hidden truths about her identity and misconceptions about her past begin to surface. This woman turns out to be, spoiler alert, Marilyn Monroe, who is portrayed by Ellen Burstyn in her later years and Dakota Johnson as her younger self. The film premiered at the 83rd Annual Venice Film Festival. 

Browse a full lineup of this year's Busan International Film Festival here.