Clockwise from top left, posters for "Moving," "Physical: 100" and "The Glory (Photos by Disney+ and Netflix)
The coronavirus pandemic opened doors for Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms, introducing the era of overflowing streaming content for people isolated by social distancing.
When the pandemic came to an end, the thriving, competitive streaming business hit a speed bump as daily lives returned to normal and screen time lessened. Despite the setback, the streaming services have forged ways to create original content to secure their footing in the heated game.
This year, the Asia Contents Awards, one of the major events held during the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), began to recognize the growing presence of streaming content around the world by expanding the nominees to creators of Asian content released worldwide.
Under the new name, Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards, this year’s award, held at the Busan Cinema Center's outdoor theater, on October 8, included 17 awards in five new categories.
Actress Karishma Tanna receives the Best Lead Actress award for her performances in Netflix’s Indian original series “Scoop.” (Courtesy of BIFF)
Disney+’s hit Korean original series “Moving” was undeniably the winner of the night, sweeping a total of six awards, including the highest honor, Best Creative Award. Its creator and scriptwriter Kang Full won Best Writer, and its cast members Ryu Seung-ryong, Lee Jung-ha and Go Youn-jung took the Best Lead Actor, Best Newcomer Actor and Actress awards, respectively.
The Best OTT Original award went to the homegrown streaming platform Wavve’s biggest original hit from last year “Weak Hero Class 1,” which was also streamed globally through KOCOWA and iQIYI.
Netflix’s Indian original series “Scoop” notched two accolades, Best Asian TV Series and Best Lead Actress for Karishma Tanna. The Best Supporting Actor and Actress awards went to Hsueh Shih-Ling and Lim Ji-yeon for their performance in Disney+’s “Taiwan Crime Stories” and Netflix’s “The Glory,” respectively.
Netflix’s sensational hit Korean reality series “Physical: 100” and its Vietnamese content “Let's Feast Vietnam” took home the newly added Best Reality and Best Variety trophies.
Main host Song Kang-ho waves during the red carpet ceremony. (Courtesy of BIFF)
The 28th BIFF ran from October 4 to 15 after months of managerial turmoil that saw two organizing committee managers resign and one fired.
After award-winning actor Song Kang-ho stepped in to fill the hosting duties of the committee chairperson, the festival had a successful 10-day run, screening 209 films from 70 countries. Among them were eight international premieres and 80 world premieres (those that have not even been screened in their home countries).
The festival sold over 142,000 tickets with about 7,700 local and international guests attending its special programs and events.
Park Eun-bin speaks during her stint as host of the opening ceremony. (Courtesy of BIFF)
The festival opened with a colorful red carpet event, attended by world-renowned stars like Song Joong-ki; Fan Bingbing; John Cho; and Hong Kong’s Chow Yun-fat, who was named Asian Filmmaker of the Year.
This year’s festival boasted a wide selection of films like influential filmmaker Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winner “Anatomy of a Fall” and Bangladesh director Iqbal H. Chowdhury’s refreshing “The Wrestler,” which won the New Currents award.
It also highlighted Korean American filmmakers and actors in Hollywood by holding a special program “Korean Diasporic Cinema." In addition, “Chow Yun Fat: True Colors of a Hero” paid homage to Chow, and "Renaissance of Indonesian Cinema" recognized works from that emerging film powerhouse.
BIFF's industry platform, the Asian Content & Film Market, garnered 2,470 participants from 49 countries, about 220 more participants than in the previous year. It saw a record number of business meetings with 826 conducted during the market, about 17 percent higher than last year’s record maker.
The festival wrapped with the closing film “The Movie Emperor” by director Ning Hao.
