The festival
The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN), inaugurated in 1997 and formerly known as PiFan, is South Korea's leading genre film festival. It concentrates on fantasy, horror, thriller, and mystery films from Korea and around the world, with Asian genre cinema at the core of its identity.
Worth knowing
Held annually in July in Bucheon, a city near Seoul, the festival has grown into a significant platform for genre filmmakers and industry programs such as its project market. It is a member of the Méliès International Festivals Federation.
How to attend
BIFAN is a public-facing festival with individual screening tickets available online and at venues in Bucheon, alongside industry and market activities for professionals.
Awards & submissions
BIFAN’s flagship competition is Bucheon Choice, judged by an international jury across feature and short-film categories, with prizes including Best of Bucheon for the top international feature, Best Short Film, acting awards and a Jury’s Choice, complemented by audience awards decided by festival-goers. Its remit is deliberately genre-focused — fantasy, horror, thriller and mystery — with particular attention to new work from East and Southeast Asia. The festival is a member of the Méliès International Festivals Federation and runs industry initiatives including a project market and networking programmes for genre filmmakers. Held each July in Bucheon, near Seoul, it pairs public screenings with these professional strands, and winners are announced at a closing ceremony that has become a fixture of South Korea’s summer film calendar. Details of categories, eligibility and deadlines are published on the official BIFAN website ahead of each edition.
Official site →Dates and programs change year to year — check the official site for the current edition.