Netflix Showcases Asian Storytelling at BIFF 2024, Announcing Opening Night Film

September 3, 2024 — Netflix is thrilled to announce our involvement in this year’s Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), including the Opening Night world premiere of Uprising and new events to support emerging filmmakers across Asia Pacific.

Recognized by BIFF as a “historical masterpiece completed by Korea’s best film masters” and “worthy opening title,” Netflix’s Uprising will be the 2024 Opening Night Film for the festival. Uprising is directed by Kim Sang-man and produced by legendary filmmaker Park Chan-wook, who also co-wrote the film. The action-packed saga tells the story of two unlikely childhood friends — one a slave, the other his young master — who turn adversaries amidst a raging war. It features stellar performances by Gang Dong-won and Park Jeong-min, and will have its world premiere on October 2 in Busan.

In addition to Uprising, BIFF has selected a number of Netflix titles from across Asia to have their world premiere in the On Screen section. Among them, Taiwan’s Born For The Spotlight follows the friendship between two top actresses as they pursue their passion and navigate the cutthroat showbiz landscape. Japan’s Beyond Goodbye delves into the enduring power of love as a woman meets the recipient of her late fiancé’s heart. And fans will be thrilled to know that the second season of Hellbound will debut at BIFF, continuing the story in a world where hellbound decrees and gruesome banishments are now commonplace.

The festival line-up will also include the Norwegian documentary The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, which won two Sundance awards and traces a young man’s adventures in a virtual world amid the restrictions of his physical life.

This year also marks a significant milestone, as Netflix steps up our support as a BIFF Industry Partner for the first time. As part of this official collaboration with BIFF, we are proud to present the inaugural Creative Asia Forum, a one-day event designed to nurture emerging filmmakers, creatives, and production professionals. Full line-up will be announced shortly.

Netflix Title Information / BIFF 2024

Uprising (Korea)
Logline: Set against the chaos of war, Uprising takes viewers on a gripping journey through the lives of two childhood friends-turned-adversaries.
Format: Film
Cast: Gang Dong-won, Park Jeong-min, Cha Seung-won, Kim Shin-rock, Jin Sun-kyu, Jung Sung-il
Directed by: Kim Sang-man
Written by: Shin Chul, Park Chan-wook
Producer: Park Chan-wook

Born for the Spotlight (Taiwan)
Logline: A refreshing journey of sisterhood, following the friendship between two top actresses, Chou Fan (Cheryl Yang) and Hsueh Ya-chih (Hsieh Ying-xuan), as they pursue their passion and navigate the cutthroat showbiz landscape, where ambition, friendship and desires collide. Meanwhile, rising starlet Emma Shih (Chloe Lin), a spirited 20-year-old who dreams of becoming a leading actress in the entertainment industry, faces a bumpy path to stardom. The series delves into the cutthroat world of showbiz, revealing the ambitious, passionate and complex lives of actresses across three generations. Who will claim the spotlight, and what sacrifices will they make for fame.
Format: Series
Cast: Hsieh Ying-xuan, Cheryl Yang, Hsueh Shih-ling, Annie Chen, Hsieh Chiung-hsuan, Yang Kuei-mei, Chung Hsin-ling, Tseng Wan-ting, Chloe Lin, Rd Huang, Zhan Huai-yun
Directed by: Yen Yi-wen
Written by: Yen Yi-wen

Beyond Goodbye (Japan)
Logline: The story portrays the poignant miracle of two lives intertwined by fate: a woman mourning her fiancé lost in a tragic accident and the man who was saved by her late fiancé’s heart. A grief-stricken Saeko meets Naruse, a man who strangely reminds her of Yusuke, her fiancé who died in a traffic accident on the very day he proposed to her. Little did she know that Naruse received Yusuke’s heart.
Format: Series
Cast: Kasumi Arimura, Kentaro Sakaguchi, Yuri Nakamura, Eita Okuno, Ayumi Ito, Yuki Saito, Kanji Furutachi, Yoshiko Miyazaki, Issey Ogata, Toma Ikuta, Tomokazu Miura
Directed by: Hiroshi Kurosaki
Written by: Yoshikazu Okada

Hellbound Season 2 (Korea)
Logline: Hellbound Season 2 unleashes a chaotic world exacerbated by continuous hellbound decrees, where lawyer Min Hye-jin of Sodo, The New Truth, and the Arrowheads get entangled amid the sudden resurrections of The New Truth’s Chairman Jung Jin-su and Park Jung-ja.
Format: Series
Cast: Kim Hyun-joo, Kim Sung-cheol, Kim Shin-rock, Im Seong-jae, Lee Dong-hee, Yang Ik-june, Lee Re, Hong Euy-jun, Cho Dong-in, (special appearance) Moon So-ri, Moon Geun-young
Directed by: Yeon Sang-ho
Written by: Yeon Sang-ho, Choi Gyu-seok

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (Norway)
Logline: The secret life of a young World of Warcraft gamer is vividly reimagined when his online friends contact his family after his death.
Format: Film
Director: Benjamin Ree
Producer: Ingvil Giske