Selection criteria for the 34th Busan International Short Film Festival International Competition

In selecting the films submitted to the 34th Busan Short Film Festival International Competition, the 14 members of the preliminary jury; which includes 3 international and 11 domestic have followed a strict guideline during the past two months. A total of 4,447 films from 126 countries have gone through 2 elimination processes which concluded in 37 films from 29 countries in the International Competition.

The examination of the distribution ratio by genre shows Fiction with the most, standing at 69%, Documentary 13%, Animation 10% and 8% of Experimental films followed. This shows similar aspects from last year’s competition which also shows the international state of production in the short film industry.

This year, the jury has deeply realized the seriousness regarding with the increase number of films about problems of conflict and refugees. Through the crisis in business, sexual minority, identity, family, youth and communication, each of the films that focused on everyday problems, has given a task to think about the connection between the lives. Compared to last year, the number in films have increased, especially about the life of the elderly by questioning the problems and various methods on how to approach it, it can also be shown as a reflected global issue about the aging society.

The 34th Busan International Short Film Festival’s jury for the International Competition stated that under the circumstances which many films show perfection of storytelling or technical proficiency followed two principles (standards) to select the finalists.

First, “Short Filmness,” the preliminary jury believes that there is a film aesthetic that exists only in short films. Something that would be buried or that cannot be handled in a full feature film therefore, only in short films can it truly be valued; some things are precious and beautiful only because they are expressed as a short film. The second standard is “Issue Awareness,” which focuses more on films that were given an apparent awareness of an issue. The reason for this is because awareness is what defines the subject and the format of a film; more merit was given, allowing an issue to create its format rather than simply following a format for the sake of it.

We would like to spread our deep gratitude to all who have submitted their films. The hours that the jury has spent while examining the films were long and arduous, but also were precious moments experienced with new and powerful ventures.

Thank you.

The Preliminary Jury of the 34th Busan International Short Film Festival