“Hellbound,” the TV series debut of “Train to Busan” director Yeon Sang-ho, is one of three shows to be showcased in the new On Screen section of the Busan International Film Festival. The festival also announced that its Asian Contents & Film Market will operate in similar fashion to last year in a hybrid format.
The On Screen section is intended to “showcase highly anticipated drama series on OTT platforms as either world premieres or Asia premieres,” the festival said. This “precisely reflects the current state of the market, which is expanding multi-directionally, while embracing the extended flow and value of cinema.”
The two other new shows are “My Name,” from Kim Jin-min (Netflix’s “Extracurricular”), and youth drama “Forbidden,” which was co-directed by Thailand’s Anucha Boonyawatana and Korean-American, Josh Kim.
“Hellbound” and “My Name” are both Korean dramas set to play out on Netflix, while “Forbidden” is an HBO Asia original series. “Hellbound” will have its world premiere at Toronto, another festival opening its doors to episodic drama.
Due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic and severe travel restrictions in the region, Busan’s ACFM is for a second year operating as an online market. There will also be “partial onsite business meetings for [Korea-based] participants who are able to attend the Asian Project Market and the E-IP Market physically.”
The market will operate Oct. 11-14, 2021. The main festival will run Oct. 6-15, 2021. The 20221 edition of the Asian Project Market will be open for three days Oct. 12-14, and be held entirely online as a meeting place for directors and producers of the part-financed projects to meet potential co-producers, investors and distributors.
“Hellbound” is adapted from a webtoon in which people are suddenly told they are going to hell. Some react by establishing a new religious organization, while other try to understand the meaning of the events. The series stars veteran actors Yoo Ah-in, Park Jeong-min, Kim Hyun-joo, Won Jin-a, Yang Ik-june, Kim Do-yoon, Kim Sin-rock, Ryu Kyung-soo, and Lee Re.
“My Name” is a female-led action noir with a story about a woman who infiltrates the police in order to investigate and avenge her father’s death. It stars Han So-hee, Park Hee-soon, Ahn Bo-hyun, Kim Sang-ho, Lee Hak-ju, and Jang Yull.
“Forbidden” is pitched as an extreme horror about four friends who travel from Bangkok to a remote mountain village for the funeral of one of their group’s father. The cast is headed by one of Thailand’s rising stars, actor-singer Kritssanapoom Pibulsonggram.