69 animated short films have been selected for the Bucheon International Animation Festival (BIAF), which will be held from 21 to 25 October, 2022 in South Korea.

Bucheon International Animation Festival selected 38 short films, 12 graduation films, 8 TV&Commissioned for International competition and 11 Korean short films among 3,001 submissions from 103 countries. Former winners of the BIAF Grand Prize, Jeff Le Bars, Sarah Saidan, Réka Bucsi, and other previous winners of the festival―Yu Yu, Joung Yumi, Stéphane Aubier & Vincent Patar―have joined the 2022 edition with their new films.

Selected films also featured in the Cannes festival selection including 'We are not there tomorrow' & 'Spring Roll Dream' in Cinéfondation (La Cinef) for Short Competition. In addition, Moon Sujin’s 'Persona', selected for Short Competition in Cannes festival and winner of Annecy Graduation Cristal―is included in the Graduation Category.

Persona

• Find our interview with the 'Persona' director

Furthermore, 'Shape of the Wind', a new film by Lee Sunggang―Annecy Feature Cristal-winning 'My Beautiful Girl, Mari'; (2002) director―and 'Run Totti Run', a film that marks the directorial debut of Pixar’s veteran animator Shad Bradbury, will have their world and international premieres at BIAF.

Shape of the Wind

The Venice Film Festival selected 'Christopher at Sea', directed by Tom CJ Brown, is another notable pick of BIAF2022. Considering Asian films, included in the short competition are: Locarno’s pick 'Tiger Stabs Tiger' by Shen Jie and 'A Girl Meets a Boy and a Robot' by Watanabe Shinichiro, famous for his series 'Cowboy Bebop'.

Highlights:

1. Shape of the Wind | LEE Sunggang | South Korea | 12'39''
A boy living with his sick grandmother, arms with a gun to get revenge on a wolf who killed a lamb. However, the boy gets lost in a blizzard and faints. After a while, the wolf reappears and drags him somewhere.

2. Christopher at Sea | Tom CJ BROWN | United Kingdom/France | 19' 59''
Christopher embarks on a transatlantic voyage as a passenger on a cargo ship. His hopes of finding out what lures so many men to sea sets him on a journey into solitude, fantasy and obsession.

3. Tiger Stabs Tiger | SHEN Jie | China | 21'42''
Irreversible penetrations, repeated collisions, intense touches and adhesions…bring both life and death.

4. Run Totti Run | Shad BRADBURY | USA | 17'30''
A young boy and his dog in the rice fields of Cambodia encounter an unmoving obstacle that will bring to light their love. An endearing love story between best friends.

5. A Girl Meets a Boy and a Robot | WATANABE Shinichiro | China/Japan | 19'33''
Having lost her memory, a girl wanders alone in the desert of ruins. She encounters a robot who has also seemed to lose its memory and a boy seeking Crystal of time.

The full lineup:

Short Film Competition

• A Girl Meets A Boy and A Robot, WATANABE Shinichiro
• A Guitar in the Bucket, KIM Boyoung
• Amok, Balázs TURAI
• CANARY, Pierre-Hugues DALLAIRE, Benoit THERRIAULT
• Christopher at Sea, Tom CJ BROWN
• Dog – Apartment, Priit TENDER
• Drone, Sean BUCKELEW
• Ecorchee(Skinned), Joachim HERISSE
• El After del Mundo, Florentina GONZALEZ
• Home of the heart, Sarah SAIDAN
• House of Existence, JOUNG Yumi
• HYSTERESIS, Robert SEIDEL
• Intermission, Réka BUCSI
• Luce and the Rock, Britt RAES
• Meal On The Plate, XIE Chenglin
• New Moon, Jeff Le BARS, Jérémie BALAIS
• Pachyderme, Stephanie CLEMENT
• Pina, Jérémy DEPUYDT , Giuseppe ACCARDO
• Remember How I Used to Ride a White Horse, Ivana Bosnjak VOLDA, Thomas Johnson VOLDA
• Run Totti Run, Shad BRADBURY
• Scale, Joseph PIERCE
• Searching Heleny, Esther VITAL
• Seniors 3000, Julien DAVID
• Shape of the Wind, LEE Sunggang
• Slow Light, Katarzyna KIJEK, Przemysław ADAMSKI
• Spring Roll Dream, VU Mai
• Supper, Dániel BÁRÁNY
• Suzie in the Garden, Lucie SUNKOVÁ
• The Debutante, Elizabeth HOBBS
• The Garbage Man, Laura GONÇALVES
• The Island of Us, YU Yu
• The Record, Jonathan LASKAR
• The Sausage Run, Thomas STELLMACH
• The Shadow of the Butterflies, Sofia El KHYARI
• Tiger Stabs Tiger, SHEN Jie
• Two Sisters, Anna BUDANOVA
• We are not there tomorrow, Olga KLYSZEWICZ
• YUGO, Carlos Gómez SALAMANCA

Graduation Film Competition

• After Wind After Rain, WANG Yuezhu
• Before Her Body Left, YANG Yuxin
• Birdsong, CHENG Michelle
• Boogerly Love, IKEDA Kano
• Defoam, CHAN Pui Sze
• Have a Good Night, ZHANG Shengluo
• Laika & Nemo, Jan GADERMANN, Sebastian GADOW (Co-Director)
• Persona, MOON Sujin
• Red Giant, Anne VERBEURE
• Roots, Maddalena BROZZI, Sara MOSCHINI, Laura CAGNONI
• Visit, KIM Huiji
• What They Left Behind, GU Vicky Xingyu

Korean Short Competition

• A Guitar in the Bucket, KIM Boyoung
• Breeze, Justine SUH
• Dona on the Island, CHUNG Huibin
• Good Night, LEE Jung-seo , LEE Seo-bin , YOON Ji-yeon
• House of Existence, JOUNG Yumi
• I am a Horse, IM Chaerin
• Metamodernity, Erick OH
• My cute Teddy, KIM Dami
• Overlapping Universe, OK Seyoung
• Paper Kid, CHEONG Jaehee
• Shape of the Wind, LEE Sunggang

TV & Commissioned Competition

• A Town Called Panic: The Summer Holidays, Vincent PATAR, Stéphane AUBIER
• DARKEN, Hanabushi
• Deiji Meets Girl, TAZAWA Ushio
• Funny Birds, Charlie BELIN
• Love is over, KHIL Seon-a
• Lunar Love & Ever, Gabriel Gabriel GARBLE
• Robo99, KIM Sungcheol
• The Smile - Thin Thing, Cristóbal LEÓN, Joaquín COCIÑA

The festival’s selection was made by Jang Nari (director of My Father's Room, Salvia at Nine), Rhee Souewon (critic, FIPRESCI), Lee Eunhwa (programmer) and BIAF program director, Eugene Kim.

BIAF2022 will be held onsite from October 21-25 in Bucheon, South Korea, just outside Seoul.

(central image: A Girl Meets a Boy and a Robot, Shinichiro Watanabe)

• BIAF