Busan’s New Current picks Iran’s ‘Blockage’

The New Current category at the 22nd Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) in South Korea has picked the Iranian film ‘Blockage’.

The organizers recently announced that the Iranian film will go on screen along with nine other movies in the section dedicated to promising Asian filmmakers.

Directed by Mohsen Qaraei, ‘Blockage’ chronicles the devastating pandemonium that occurs to a ferocious, contemptible man who works as a street vendor control officer.

Notable among the other entries of the section are ‘Somewhere beyond the Mist’ by King Wai Cheung from Hong Kong, ‘Ajji’ by Devashish Makhija and ‘Ashwatthama’ by Pushpendra Singh, both from India.

The section has also picked ‘End of Summer’ by Zhou Quan and ‘One Night on the Wharf’ by Han Dong China from China as well as ‘The Last Verse’ by Taiwanese director Tseng Ying-Ting.

‘Last Child’ by Shin Dongseok, ‘After My Death’ by Kim Uiseok and ‘How to Breathe Underwater’ by Ko Hyunseok, all from South Korea are the other contenders.

Iranian director Bahman Qobadi, French cinematographer Agnès Godard, Filipino director Lav Diaz and Korean director Jang Sun-woo are on the section’s jury panel headed by the US director Oliver Stone.

BIFF, held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan, South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia.

Launched in 1996 as the first international film festival in Korea, BIFF is introducing new films and first-time directors, especially those from Asian countries.

The 22nd edition of BIFF is slated for October 12-21 in the South Korean city.

MG/AG