The 30th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) will open on September 17 with director Park Chan-wook’s new film “No Other Choice.” Over the 10-day festival, which runs until the 26th, a total of 328 films will be screened across Busan. This year, BIFF officially declared its transition into a full-fledged competitive festival and will present the newly established “Busan Award” to the year’s most representative Asian film.

At a press conference held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in central Seoul on August 26, Festival Director Jung Han-seok said, “For our 30th edition, the guest lineup is monumental, the largest and strongest in our history.” Among the guests making their first visit to Korea are directors Guillermo del Toro and Marco Bellocchio. Also attending are French actress Juliette Binoche, who presided over the jury at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and Sean Baker, director of “Anora,” which swept four Oscars.

This year’s official selection features 241 films from 64 countries, including 90 world premieres. Including Community BIFF, a citizen-driven program, the total lineup amounts to 328 films.

The opening film “No Other Choice” marks Park Chan-wook’s first new release in three years. It tells the story of Man-su (played by Lee Byung-hun), an office worker who, after being laid off, prepares his own war to protect his wife Miri (played by Son Ye-jin) and their two children by seeking re-employment. The film is adapted from American novelist Donald Westlake’s “The Ax.” It has already drawn wide attention, having been invited to the competition section of this year’s Venice International Film Festival, the first Korean film in 13 years to achieve this.

Fourteen Asian films have been invited to compete in the new competition section. Among them are “Gloaming in Luomu” by Zhang Lu (China), “Resurrection” by Bi Gan (China), and “Two Seasons, Two Strangers” by Sho Miyake (Japan). They will compete for five Busan Awards: Best Film, Best Director, Jury Prize, Best Performance, and Artistic Contribution.

BIFF’s Chairperson Park Kwang-su said the new competition section is significant because it allows “Asian films to be reevaluated from an Asian perspective.” Festival Director Jung said, “Choosing films in Europe and choosing films at BIFF will continue to differ. We hope to showcase the currents, tendencies, and perspectives of Asian cinema, and point to the direction of the very best contemporary Asian films.”

The former “Vision Section,” which was limited to Korean films, has been expanded to include all of Asia, now divided into “Vision Korea” (12 films) and “Vision Asia” (11 films).

The “Gala Presentation Section” will feature four globally anticipated films: “It Was Just an Accident” by Jafar Panahi, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes; Guillermo del Toro’s latest Netflix original “Frankenstein”; “KOKUHO” by Lee Sang-il, a kabuki reinterpretation that has stormed the Japanese box office; and “Good News” by Byun Sung-hyun, praised for balancing artistic merit with popular appeal.

The “Open Cinema Section,” which screens films late at night at the outdoor theater of the Busan Cinema Center, will showcase more popular works. These include “AUDITION 109,” the sequel to “Wish,” the film that launched actor Jung Woo to fame, in which Jung co-directs with Oh Seong-ho; a live-action remake of Makoto Shinkai’s “5 Centimeters Per Second” by director Yoshiyuki Okuyama; and “Measure in Love,” marking the return of rising Taiwanese star Greg Hsu after his military service.

Special programs have been expanded for the 30th anniversary. Italian maestro Marco Bellocchio, visiting an Asian film festival for the first time, and world-renowned actress Juliette Binoche will be honored with retrospectives. There will also be sessions highlighting the works recommended by emerging Korean women filmmakers and other distinguished figures from the global film and cultural community.

At the opening ceremony, awards will be presented to Jafar Panahi (The Asian Filmmaker of the Year), director Chung Ji-young (Korean Cinema Award), and director Sylvia Chang (Camellia Award). The Busan Awards will be presented at the closing ceremony. Both ceremonies will be directed by Min Kyu-dong, known for films such as “The old woman With The Knife.” Actor Lee Byung-hun will host the opening ceremony, while actress Claudia Kim will host the closing. Chairperson Park said, “The two hosts will lead the ceremonies at the center of the stage like true owners of the festival.”

Other prominent attendees include directors Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho, Lee Chang-dong, Jia Zhangke, Johnnie To, Tsai Ming-liang, Marziyeh Meshkini, and Michael Mann, as well as actors Ken Watanabe, Hidetoshi Nishijima, and Shun Oguri from Japan; Tony Leung Chiu-wai from Hong Kong; and Lee Kang-sheng, Shu Qi, and Gwei Lun-mei from Taiwan. Maggie Kang, director of the globally buzzed Netflix animation “K-Pop Demon Hunters,” will also be in Busan for a special sing-along screening event.