Indian Cinema Gains Global Spotlight at BIFF 2025; Ministerial Delegation to Attend for First Time

In a major boost for the Indian film industry, a lineup of 10 films will feature at the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) 2025, while five projects will be showcased at the Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM).

The 30th edition of the BIFF will be held from September 17 to September 26 at the Busan Cinema Centre in Busan, South Korea.

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The Indian films that will be showcased at BIFF-2025 include Spying Stars (Padma Shri Nila Madhab Panda, competing in the Inaugural Competition section), If on a Winter Night (Sanju Surendran), Kok Kok Kokoook (Maharshi Tuhin Kashyap); Shape of Momo (Tribeny Rai, under Vision Asia section). Other projects include Bayaan (Bikas Ranjan Mishra); Don’t Tell Mother (Anoop Lokkur); Full Plate (Tannishtha Chatterjee); Karinji (Sheetal N.S.); I, Poppy (Vivek Chaudhary).

At the Asian Project Market (ACFM), five Indian projects are selected for the Co-Production Market, which include Difficult Daughters(Soni Razdan), The Last of Them Plagues (directed by Kunjila Mascillamani), Lanka: The Fire (Saurav Rai), Moon (Pradip Kurbah), and The Magical Men (Biplob Sarkar).

In a statement issued here today, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting stated that for the first time, a high-level ministerial delegation led by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr L Murugan will be attending the BIFF.

The delegation will comprise senior officials of the Ministry of I&B, representatives from NFDC, FICCI, FTII, SRFTII, and IIMC, along with select creators from the WAVES Bazaar initiative.

Ahead of the visit, Murugan said, “India is proud to participate in BIFF 2025, a festival that brings together the best of Asian and global cinema. Our presence here reflects India’s resolve to expand co-productions, create new opportunities in AVGC, and strengthen cultural bonds with South Korea. Through WAVES Bazaar and Bharat Parv, we showcase not only our creative economy but also the timeless heritage and talent of India.”

Further, the Bharat Pavilion will be set up at both BIFF & ACFM under the theme “India – Creative Economy for the World”. The Pavilion will highlight the WAVES Bazaar initiative, designed to connect Indian content creators, producers, and distributors with global markets through B2B meetings. As part of ACFM’s Official Programme, a panel discussion on “India–Korea Synergies: New Horizons in Co-Productions” will be organised with leading industry representatives and government officials from both countries.

The Ministry of I&B will host “Bharat Parv”, a cultural evening featuring Indian arts, music, and cuisine. The event will serve as a platform for deeper people-to-people and cultural connect between India and Korea, with participation of leaders from both the Indian and Korean media and entertainment industries.

A G2G meeting of MoS I&B with the Minister of Culture, Sports & Tourism, Republic of Korea, is planned to launch a structured dialogue for an India–Korea AVGC & Film Co-Production Framework. Signing of Letters of Intent (LoIs) is scheduled between NFDC, FTII, IICT (India), and Korean institutions, including KAFA, KOFIC, KOCCA, as well as Korean OTT platforms for training, exchange programmes, and Indian content distribution, the ministry stated.