The 37th Busan International Short Film Festival

Selection criteria for the International Competition Section

Upon deliberating over thousands of films for 3 months, the 21 pre-selection juries (6 overseas, 15 Korean) of the 37th Busan International Short Film Festival (BISFF) have selected a total of 40 films from 29 countries as finalists. This year’s

pre-selection for the competition section is different from past years. While previously the selection process consisted of 2 rounds, this year there were 3, in an effort to improve accuracy, integrity, and diversity.

This year, 2,752 films from 112 countries were submitted for the international competition. The entries’ genre distribution was: 71% fiction, 12% documentary, 10% animation, and 7% experimental films. Like last year, fiction films account for 

the highest percentage, with all other genres making up about a quarter of all entries. Even though the total number of entries have increased dramatically in the past few years, the genre ratio remains the same. This is a testament to the 

diversity that short films have in comparison to the feature-length film market, which is mostly saturated with fiction films. Although fiction films are also dominant in short films, the numbers show a consistency in other genres such as, 

documentary, animation, and experimental films.

Many of the entries for the international competition talked not only about political issues like wars and civil wars, but also about the aftermaths of political problems, such as social issues like immigration, refugees, racism, and personal reality 

and actual danger. In particular, the topic of immigration and social integration appeared in various forms throughout the different genres. Another very current issue appearing in short films around the world is that of women and children. 

Taking a look at the distribution of the countries that made a submission, we note that Western Europe came strong per geography, and Eastern Europe stood out with quality films. And while the number of entries were lower from Asia, they 

showed noticeable progress, with exceptional boldness and experimental spirit characterizing their potential. The 40 films of the international competition are high quality films that have secured various themes, filmic styles, and issue 

awareness, and include films that already received much acclaim in other film festivals around the world. 

The juries of the international competition made their judgments according to the unique judging principles of BISFF – “short film-ness” and “issue awareness”. They wanted to find films that are independent and complete, rather than a rough 

draft of a feature film, to bring such works to the public. And they found them – the films that communicate with the world, films that chose the difficult path to be unique rather than familiar.

We send our deepest appreciation to all the filmmakers who have walked the path untraveled, spending restless nights and slaving the days in artistic creation. The juries saw in all submitted films the lonely process of creation, and witnessed 

the questions raised about art and life.

The Pre-selection Jury of the 37th Busan International Short Film Festival

* International Competition Finalist 40 Films (Titles in alphabetical order)