The Bucheon International Animation Festival this year will be the largest scale since its launch, as it aims to become one of the top in Asia, the organizing committee said Wednesday.

Since its launch in 1999, the annual international animation festival in the South Korean city of Bucheon has presented a number of high-quality animated films. During its 16th run in 2015, the global event changed its name from the Puchon International Student Animation Festival, opening the event to professionals as well.

“We are pushing our way to become Asia’s top international animation film festival, to stand on par with the world’s big-four players,” Jang Dong-yeol, the head of the BIAF organizing committee, told Yonhap at a press conference in central Seoul.

The big four in world animation awards are the Ottawa International Animation Festival of Canada, the Zagreb International Animation Festival of Ukraine, the Annecy International Animated Film Festival of France and the Hiroshima International Animation Festival of Japan. Only those four are officially approved by the International Animated Film Association, the animated film arm of UNESCO.

“You will be surprised at the quality of the student work competing in the BIAF -- they never underplay those by adults,” Jang added.

The media event was organized to promote this year’s BIAF, which will be held from Oct. 21 to 25 in seven cinemas, museums and exhibition halls in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province.

For years, the BIAF has featured top-notch juries and submissions from all over the world.

Under the theme “Ani+Play,” a combination of animated films and play, a total of 1,221 works from 70 countries were submitted to the festival. Among them, 135 pieces were accepted to compete for awards in five sections, including feature films, short films, TV and commissioned films, online films and student-made films. The festival will screen 222 animated films from 38 countries, including the 135 competitors, in cinemas. Some will be screened on Naver TV Cast, an online broadcast by South Korean internet portal operator Naver.

Last year, a total of 160 pieces from 35 countries competed in the BIAF 2015.

The jury pool for the final includes Benjamin Legrand, the French screenwriter of last year’s BIAF opener “April and the Extraordinary World” and author of “Snowpiercer,” a cartoon which was later made into a film of the same title by South Korean director Bong Jun-ho. Also among the 10 jury members are Raul Garcia, a US character animator of Disney’s “The Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin,” “The Lion King” and “Pocahontas,” as well as French director and producer Jacques-Remy Girerd.

This year’s BIAF will open with the Asian premiere of “Kubo and the Two Strings” by US animator Travis Knight, the president and chief executive of Studio LAIKA. The stop motion animation guru was the lead animator of “The Boxtrolls,” “ParaNorman” and “Coraline,”all of which were nominated for the Oscar and awards given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Producers Guild of America.

Following its US premiere, “Kubo and the Two Strings” raked in rave reviews from US animated film critics for its action scenes and organic development.

The 102-minute film unravels the adventure of a young boy named Kubo, who lives with his mother in a humble cave. Kubo’s mother, suffering from memory loss, would tell her only son to return home before dark every day. One day, the playful boy stays away from home late, and becomes the target of the evil moon king. To defy the vengeful foe, Kubo begins a long journey to locate his late father’s magical armor.

“We take great pride in our opening screeners and the fact that many became nominated for the Oscars after screening at the BIAF,” said Eugene Kim, the BIAF’s chief program director.

The opening work of 2012 was Disney’s Oscar winner “Paperman.”

BIAF 2015 opener “April and the Extraordinary World” is a strong Oscar candidate, foreboding a fierce rivalry with Disney’s “Zootopia.”

On the sidelines of the film screenings are special programs and master classes by award-winning animators.

“The French Year,” BIAF’s special exhibition, is dedicated to the 130th anniversary of South Korea-France diplomatic ties. The event presents a total of 56 French animated films, including winners of the Cannes Film Festival, the Annecy International Animated Film Festival and the Cesar Awards.

One of the special French programs includes the Sylvain Chomet series, which explores the works of the animator and four-time nominee for Academy Awards. Six of his greatest works, including his signature works “Attila Marcel,” “The Illusionist” and “The Triplets of Belleville,” will be screened during the event. (Yonhap)