Your decision lands yourself and the organization you lead in a political turmoil. You have the power to go back in time and save everyone from it. Would you do anything differently? Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) director Lee Yong-kwan wouldn’t.
In a rare exclusive TV interview, Lee explained his decision to screen a controversial documentary on the Sewol ferry disaster The Truth Shall Not Sink with Sewol/Diving Bell at 19th BIFF in 2014.
On JTBC, he expressed his thoughts about the importance of artistic freedom and standing by his program selection panels’ autonomy . “If I was put in that situation again, I would still screen Diving Bell. I have no other choice.”
The decision to screen the exposé was followed by Korean Film Council, a government body, cutting its funding for the festival by 45%. BIFF organizers had to fight the local government front as well when Busan city officials openly tried to oust Lee. It seemed the two called it a truce until Busan officials accused Lee of financial wrongdoings and lodged a complaint before the court.
“We screened about 5,000 films and had 4 million visitors for the festival over the course of 20 years. That means we screened 5,000 different themes. I don’t think it is just about Diving Bell.”
Lee seems to have growing international support on his side. There are numerous posts advocating creative freedom for BIFF with the hashtag #isupportbiff. Contributors include Leos Carax (Les Amants du Pont-Neuf), Feng Xiaogang (The Dream Factory) and Kurosawa Kiyoshi (Cure).