Bucheon International Animation Festival selects 69 animated short films out of 3,001 submissions

Bucheon International Animation Festival (BIAF) revealed that 69 animated short films have been selected for this year’s edition. The event will be held from 21-25 October 2022 in South Korea.

The festival selected 38 short films, 12 graduation films, eight TV and commissioned for international competition and 11 Korean short films among 3,001 submissions from 103 countries.

Former winners of BIAF Grand Prize, Jeff Le Bars, Sarah Saidan, Réka Bucsi and other previous winners of the festival―Yu Yu, Joung Yumi, Stéphane Aubier & Vincent Patar―have joined the 2022 edition with their new films. Selected films also featured in Cannes festival selection including We are not there tomorrow & Spring Roll Dream in Cinéfondation (La Cinef) for ‘Short Competition’. In addition, Moon Sujin’s Persona, selected for Short Competition in Cannes festival and winner of Annecy Graduation Cristal―is included in the ‘Graduation Category’.

Furthermore, Shape of the Wind, a new film of Lee Sunggang―Annecy Feature Cristal-winning director (My Beautiful Girl, Mari– 2002) and Run Totti Run, a film that marks the directorial debut of Pixar’s veteran animator Shad Bradbury, will have their world and international premieres at BIAF. The Venice Film Festival selected Christopher at Sea, directed by Tom CJ Brown is another notable pick of BIAF2022.

Considering Asian films included in the short competition are: Locarno’s pick Tiger Stabs Tiger by Shen Jie and A Girl Meets a Boy and a Robot by Watanabe Shinichiro, famous for his series Cowboy Bebop. The festival’s selections were made by Jang Nari (director of My Father’s Room, Salvia at Nine), Rhee Souewon (critic, FIPRESCI), Lee Eunhwa (programmer) and BIAF program director, Eugene Kim.

BIAF2022 will be held as usual at offline theaters between 21-25 October in Bucheon, South Korea, just outside Seoul. 

Five highlights of the festival:

1. Shape of the Wind | LEE Sungang | South Korea | 12′

A boy living with his sick grandmother, arms with a gun to get revenge on a wolf who killed a lamb. However, the boy gets lost in a blizzard and faints. After a while, the wolf reappears, dragging him somewhere.

2. Christopher at Sea | Tom CJ BROWN | United Kingdom/France | 19’59”

Christopher embarks on a transatlantic voyage as a passenger on a cargo ship. His hopes of finding out what lures so many men to sea sets him on a journey into solitude, fantasy and obsession.

3. Tiger Stabs Tiger | SHEN Jie | China | 21’42”

Irreversible penetrations, repeated collisions, intense touches and adhesions…bring both life and death.

4. Run Totti Run | Shad BRADBURY | USA | 17’30”

A young boy and his dog in the rice fields of Cambodia encounter an unmoving obstacle that will bring to light their love. An endearing love story between best friends.

5. A Girl Meets a Boy and a Robot | WATANABE Shinichiro | China/Japan | 19’33”

Having lost her memory, a girl wanders alone in the desert of ruins. She encounters a robot who has also seemed to lose its memory and a boy seeking Crystal of time.

Short Film Competition:

A Girl Meets A Boy and A Robot, WATANABE Shinichiro

A Guitar in the Bucket, KIM Boyoung

Amok, Balázs TURAI

Canary, Pierre-Hugues DALLAIRE, Benoit THERRIAULT

Christopher at Sea, Tom CJ BROWN

Dog – Apartment, Priit TENDER

Drone, Sean BUCKELEW

Ecorchee(Skinned), Joachim HERISSE

El After del Mundo, Florentina GONZALEZ

Home of the heart, Sarah SAIDAN

House of Existence, JOUNG Yumi

Hysteresis, Robert SEIDEL

Intermission, Réka BUCSI

Luce and the Rock, Britt RAES

Meal On The Plate, XIE Chenglin

New Moon, Jeff Le BARS, Jérémie BALAIS

Pachyderme, Stephanie CLEMENT

Pina, Jérémy DEPUYDT , Giuseppe ACCARDO

Remember How I Used to Ride a White Horse, Ivana Bosnjak VOLDA, Thomas Johnson VOLDA

Run Totti Run, Shad BRADBURY

Scale, Joseph PIERCE

Searching Heleny, Esther VITAL

Seniors 3000, Julien DAVID

Shape of the Wind, LEE Sunggang

Slow Light, Katarzyna KIJEK, Przemysław ADAMSKI

Spring Roll Dream, VU Mai

Supper, Dániel BÁRÁNY

Suzie in the Garden, Lucie SUNKOVÁ

The Debutante, Elizabeth HOBBS

The Garbage Man, Laura GONÇALVES

The Island of Us, YU Yu

The Record, Jonathan LASKAR

The Sausage Run, Thomas STELLMACH

The Shadow of the Butterflies, Sofia El KHYARI

Tiger Stabs Tiger, SHEN Jie

Two Sisters, Anna BUDANOVA

We are not there tomorrow, Olga KLYSZEWICZ

YUGO, Carlos Gómez SALAMANCA

Graduation Film Competition:

After Wind After Rain, WANG Yuezhu

Before Her Body Left, YANG Yuxin

Birdsong, CHENG Michelle

Boogerly Love, IKEDA Kano

Defoam, CHAN Pui Sze

Have a Good Night, ZHANG Shengluo

Laika & Nemo, Jan GADERMANN, Sebastian GADOW (Co-Director)

Persona, MOON Sujin

Red Giant, Anne VERBEURE

Roots, Maddalena BROZZI, Sara MOSCHINI, Laura CAGNONI

Visit, KIM Huiji

What They Left Behind, GU Vicky Xingyu

Korean Short Competition:

A Guitar in the Bucket, KIM Boyoung

Breeze, Justine SUH

Dona on the Island, CHUNG Huibin

Good Night, LEE Jung-seo , LEE Seo-bin , YOON Ji-yeon

House of Existence, JOUNG Yumi

I am a Horse, IM Chaerin

Metamodernity, Erick OH

My cute Teddy, KIM Dami

Overlapping Universe, OK Seyoung

Paper Kid, CHEONG Jaehee

Shape of the Wind, LEE Sunggang

TV & Commissioned Competition:

A Town Called Panic: The Summer Holidays, Vincent PATAR, Stéphane AUBIER

Darken, hanabushi

Deiji Meets Girl, TAZAWA Ushio

Funny Birds, Charlie BELIN

Love is over, KHIL Seon-a

Lunar Love & Ever, Gabriel Gabriel GARBLE

Robo99, KIM Sungcheol

The Smile – Thin Thing, Cristóbal LEÓN, Joaquín COCIÑA