OTT takes prominent place at BIFF

An eye-catching huge poster is hung at the center of the Busan Cinema Center in Haeundae-gu, Busan, where the 28th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) is being held. It was the poster for Disney+’s drama ‘Vigilante,’ to be released on Nov. 8. The online video service (OTT) series was advertised in the most prominent section at the film festival, highlighting the status of OTT platforms.

This year, BIFF invited a total of five Korean works, including Disney+'s 'Vigilante,' TVING's 'Unlucky Day,' 'LTNS,' 'Running Mate,' and Wave's 'Deal,' to the 'On Screen' category, dedicated for the OTT series section. Netflix’s ‘Doctor 2’ and ‘Ballerina’ were invited to the ‘Korean Film Today – Special Premiere Category’ as OTT films. The audience response to the OTT films invited to BIFF was so strong that all the tickets for the screening were sold out.

OTT platforms releasing new works this fall are actively using BIFF as a venue for promotion. At BIFF, a total of 12 ‘Open Talk’ sessions were held where actors and production met with the audience on an outdoor stage, of which half were OTT works.

“Releasing OTT content at film festivals will become more prominent going forward, said Kim Seong-su, a pop culture critic. “It is beneficial for both sides as OTT platforms can promote content and film festivals can acquire popularity,” he said. “The audiences will also be able to enjoy a ‘cinematic experience’ of watching OTT works on a big screen with others, just as one would do so in a movie theatre. This will bring down boundaries between movies and OTT content.”


Ji-Sun Choi aurinko@donga.com