Busan Film Festival 2025 has announced its inaugural competition jury.
Nandita Das is a part of the seven-member jury presided over by The Wailing director Na Hong-jin
The jury will hand out awards in five categories
Actor-director Nandita Das is a part of the 30th Busan International Film Festival’s jury overseeing its inaugural competition. Korean filmmaker Na Hong-jin (The Wailing) presides over the jury, that includes Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Ka-fai, Iranian New Wave director Marziyeh Meshkiny, US-based filmmaker Kogonada (Columbus, After Yang), Indonesian producer Yulia Evina Bhara, and Korean actor Han Hyo-joo.
Das is a veteran at jury duty. Having served on Cannes juries twice, as part of the main competition in 2005 and Cinéfondation & Short Films in 2013, she has also been conferred the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Chevalier) by the French Government. Das was a part of the jury at Karlovy Vary in 2007, Marrakech in 2009, San Sebastian in 2015, Shanghai in 2023. In 2024, she presided over the jury at the seventh edition of Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival. Das’ last directorial Zwigato (2022), starring Kapil Sharma and Shahana Goswami, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
This year, Busan introduces a new competition section. The introduction of the ‘Busan Award’ seeks to enhance the festival’s focus on the contemporary relevance and expansion of Asian cinema. With five award categories, including Best Film, Best Director, Special Jury Award, Best Actor, and Artistic Contribution Award, the festival offers a total prize money of 110 million KRW.
The Festival Director of BIFF, Jung Hanseok stated: “Since this is a newly launched section, we sought to appoint jury members with discerning eyes, bold perspectives, and international influence. To broaden the scope of deliberation, the Busan International Film Festival has expanded the panel from five to seven members this year. I am genuinely looking forward to seeing which of the year’s most outstanding Asian films will be selected by these distinguished members, led by Jury President Na Hong-Jin.”
The 2025 Busan festival runs from September 17 to September 26.
