Director Zhang Yimou Appointed as Jury President for the Competition Section of the 31st Busan International Film Festival

Master of Chinese cinema Director Zhang Yimou has been appointed as the Jury President for the competition section of the 31st Busan International Film Festival, which opens on the 6th of next month. On the 17th, the 31st Busan International Film Festival Secretariat announced that a jury of seven members has been formed, led by Director Zhang. The jury includes Director Bi Gan, actress Samal Yeslyamova, Director Kei Ishikawa, Director July Jung, producer Tran Thi Bich Ngoc, and actress Choi Hee-seo.

Director Zhang will lead the judging for the 13 works invited to the competition section of this film festival. Having swept major awards at the world's three major film festivals, Director Zhang received the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for his debut work 'Red Sorghum', and twice won the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival for 'The Story of Qiu Ju' and 'Not One Less'. He also won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival through 'To Live'.

The connection between the Busan International Film Festival and Director Zhang is deep. Since 'Under the Hawthorn Tree' was selected as the opening film of the festival in 2010, they have maintained steady exchanges. The competition section, which was first introduced last year, marks its second year this year, and the organizers evaluated that the artistic quality of the invited works has improved further.

This 'Busan Awards' will proceed with awards divided into a total of five categories: Grand Prix, Best Director, Grand Prix Special Prize, Best Actor, and Artistic Contribution Award. In particular, the winner of the Grand Prix will be granted the benefit of eligibility for submission to the International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards.

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