Busan Cinema Center, which cost 167.8 billion won (157 million U.S. dollars) and took three years to construct, will be used as the official screening venue of BIFF every year upon its opening this month.
Founding Director Kim Dong-ho announced his retirement last year and the succeeding Lee Yong-gwan will helm the upcoming edition of the festival. Lee recently told a press conference that the festival is now facing a new era with many changes.
"We're in the post-Kim Dong-ho era, and it's not the era of Lee Yong-kwan or anyone else, it's the era of the new Busan Cinema Center and of us continuing the great mountain of accomplishments that Kim Dong-ho has established," Lee said.
The festival's Gala Presentation, a lineup of new films by high- profile directors, will feature seven new films by renowned directors in Asia. The included films are Besson's "The Lady", Johnnie To's "Life Without Principle", Peter Chan's "Wu Xia", and Bong Joon-ho's "The Host 3D" the 3-D version of the director's famous 2006 movie of the same title.
International stars set to visit Busan this year include French filmmaker Luc Besson, Chinese actress Tang Wei, China's Hong Kong based Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh and French actress Isabelle Huppert.