Asia’s top film festival opens in shadow of Parasite
ORGANISERS of Asia’s top film festival, which opens in Busan this week, warn that a surge of global interest in the critically acclaimed South Korean movie Parasite masks a damaging underinvestment in local independent cinema. Bong Joon-ho’s darkly comic tale of class war in the Seoul suburbs won the Palme D’or for best film at Cannes and is firming as an Oscar favourite next year, in what would be the first ever win for a Korean film. It has been sold to 192 international markets – a record for a local production – and has already grossed just over $90 million ahead of its highly anticipated Oct 11 release in the United States. The film is a crowning achievement for veteran director Bong, whose works have been lauded by the likes of Quentin Tarantino and two-time collaborator Tilda Swinton. His work has long been championed by the Busan International Film Festival, a gala event dedicated to both unearthing new independent Asian talent and connecting emerging filmmakers with fin...