The Asia's largest genre film festival, featuring primarily horror, thriller and sci-fi movies, will showcase about 255 short and feature films from 49 countries this year.
With a focus on the rising trend of artificial intelligence, the festival, in its 28th year, explores the impact of AI on film-making. "We visualized the fundamental concept of AI in an analogue way, as it clearly reveals our future direction," said BIFAN organizers, explaining the festival's poster.
Opening the festival was American-British film "Love Lies Bleeding," starring Kristen Stewart and Katy O'Brian. The romantic thriller deals with a story of a lesbian relationship between a reclusive gym manager and an ambitious bodybuilder embroiled in organized crime.
This year's festival includes a retrospective of actress Son Ye-jin, celebrating her illustrious career spanning over 20 years. A string of films will be screened including "The Classic" (2003), "A Moment to Remember" (2004), "My Wife Got Married" (2008), "Spellbound" (2011), "The Truth Beneath" (2016), and "The Last Princess" (2016).
Japanese versatile veteran director Mitani Koki will also grace the festival with a special appearance for Koreans fans over the weekend.
