Sources close to the Busan International Film Festival say the jury president has asked for all 26 competition films to be screened by dominant hue, red first.
Insiders say Zhang Yimou has asked the Busan International Film Festival to screen its 26 competition films in order of dominant colour, with red first and grey last. Festival staff have created a colour continuity role to sort the running order. One beige documentary now screens last, at 9am.
Zhang Yimou has asked the Busan International Film Festival to screen its competition slate in order of dominant colour, and the programming office has agreed. Red films go first. Everything grey has been pushed to the final Thursday, where hope goes to die.
The request landed days after the festival named the Chinese director as president of its seven-member competition jury, alongside filmmaker Bi Gan and Korean actress-producer Moon Choi. The jury lineup was the official news. The colour thing is what the lobby of every Haeundae hotel is actually talking about.
Sources close to the situation say the reshuffle covers 26 titles and took three days to sort. Two films fought bitterly over amber.
"We sampled every frame and averaged it," said festival colour continuity liaison Oh Jin-ho, a role that did not exist in August. "One documentary came out beige. The director has not been told yet. We are waiting for the right moment, which may be never."
Oh said the running order now moves from crimson through orange and gold, then blue, then what he described as "the unfortunate section".
The beige situation
Jury logistics coordinator Park Da-eun insists the arrangement is entirely normal and that nobody should read anything into it. She then read a great deal into it herself.
"He has not said a word about scoring," Park said. "He simply asked what colour the opening film was. The programmer said green. There was a pause. That pause is now the most discussed pause in Korean cinema."
"Nobody is claiming the red films have an advantage. We are only noting that the red films are sitting comfortably."
Rival festival planners are watching closely. One Asian competition organiser, who asked to be described only as bruised, said his own jury now wants a seating chart based on vibe.
Filmmakers with entries have reportedly begun lobbying. Two have asked whether a poster counts toward the average. A third submitted a corrected grade at midnight and was told the spreadsheet had closed.
Festival staff stress that the jury will judge the films on merit, artistry and craft, exactly as announced by Deadline and Variety. They also confirm that the projection booth has been asked to keep the bulbs warm.
"People think this is about aesthetics," Oh said. "It is about order. You cannot go from gold to grey without a rest."
The competition runs through mid-October. The beige documentary screens last, at 9am, to a room the festival is describing as intimate.
