This year’s Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival will take place under the theme of “Love, Fantasy and Adventure” and screen 235 films of various genres from 45 countries, including 64 films making their world premiere.

According to the organizing committee, BiFan (formerly known as PiFan) differentiates itself from other fantasy film markets by broadening its definition of genre films beyond horror and the grotesque to include sci-fi, suspense and action.

“As a premium genre film showcase, we’ve brought together noteworthy genre films from various countries,” said Kang SK, a programmer of the festival, at a press conference at the Korea Press Center on Tuesday. “We are also focusing on our role as the hub of Korean indie films.”

That showcase of Korean indie films takes place through the special section “K-Indie Genre Strikes,” and other special programs such as “I’m (Not) Sono Sion” ― cohosted by the Japan Foundation ― and the retrospective “Excellent Actor, Nice Guy Simon Yam” show BiFan’s efforts to represent genre films across Asia.

A new section called “BiFan Discoveries” will also screen films that were created with support from the Network of Asian Fantastic Films, providing a springboard for up-and-coming directors.

The festival will open on July 16 with “Moonwalkers” from French director Antoine Bardou-Jacquet. “The film centers on a conspiracy theory about NASA filming the moon landing of Apollo 11 to scam the world,” said Kang. “It has all the elements of a genre film including suspense, action, humor and horror, making it perfect for the BiFan.”

Bucheon Choice, the festival’s competitive section, will pit against each other12 films in the Feature category, including Han Jun-hee’s recent hit “Coin Locker Girl,” and 12 films in the Short category.

With regards to concerns about the Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak, festival director Kim Young-bin said that continually changing circumstances make it difficult to determine the impact on the festival. “There is no chance that the festival will be canceled,” he said. “But the format of the festival may undergo some changes.” He also acknowledged that the outbreak has required active measures especially because of guests coming from China, a country that is “much more sensitive (to this issue) than other nations.”

The 19th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival will run from July 16 to 26. Main venues include the Bucheon Gymnasium, Bucheon City Hall, Korea Manhwa Museum, CGV Sopoong, CGV Bucheon and Lotte Cinema Bucheon.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)