BIFF 2026 at a glance
- Dates
- October 6–15, 2026 — the 31st festival
- Schedule published
- Published September 11 at 17:00 — every film now has a time and a venue
- Booking — galas
- Opened September 17 at 14:00: opening and closing ceremonies, outdoor screenings, late-night films — check biff.kr for what is left
- Booking — everything else
- September 21 at 14:00: regular screenings, cinema classes, master classes
- Where
- Busan Cinema Center, Centum City, plus partner cinemas across the city
- Official
- biff.kr — all online tickets. Call center 1666-9177, September 7 to October 23
What BIFF is
The Busan International Film Festival is one of Asia's largest, screening several hundred films from Korea and elsewhere over ten days each October. It holds A-list festival accreditation alongside Cannes and Venice, which is the short version of why the industry turns up.
For a visitor the practical consequence is that Busan is busier and more expensive that week, and that parts of Haeundae are given over to the festival. Whether that is a reason to come or a reason to avoid the dates depends entirely on what you came for.
The dates that actually matter
The festival itself runs October 6 to 15, 2026. But the dates that decide whether you see anything are in September, and they are published rather than guessed at.
The screening schedule went up at 17:00 on September 11, so every film now has a time and a venue. Booking runs in two waves. The first opened at 14:00 on September 17 for the opening and closing ceremonies, outdoor screenings, late-night films and special venues — those go fastest, so check biff.kr for what is left. The second opens at 14:00 on September 21 for everything else, including regular screenings, cinema classes and master classes.
The gap between the two matters if what you want is a gala. Those sell out fastest and go on sale first, four days before the general wave.
| What | When | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Screening schedule published | Sep 11, 17:00 | First point at which planning is possible |
| Booking: ceremonies, outdoor, late-night | Sep 17, 14:00 | Opened — check what is left |
| Booking: regular screenings and classes | Sep 21, 14:00 | The bulk of the program |
| Festival | Oct 6–15 | Box office sells leftovers only |
How booking works, and the box office trap
All online tickets go through the official site, biff.kr. There is no separate app store queue and no authorized reseller worth using.
The point visitors most often get wrong: the box offices at the venues are not a parallel way to buy. During the festival they sell remaining and canceled seats only, after the online allocation has gone. Turning up on the day and expecting to buy into a popular screening is how people end up seeing nothing.
If a screening you want is gone, cancellations do appear, and less prominent films in the same strand are often available all week. A festival pass is not required — single tickets are the normal way in.
Where it happens
The center is the Busan Cinema Center in Centum City, Haeundae-gu, which hosts the opening and closing ceremonies and a large share of the screenings. Its cantilevered roof is the building people photograph.
Screenings also run at partner cinemas elsewhere in the city, so check the venue on each individual film rather than assuming everything is in one place. Getting from Centum City to a cinema in Nampo-dong is close to an hour.
Coming without a ticket
Plenty of the festival is outside the auditoriums. The area around the Cinema Center carries open-air events, and the building itself is worth seeing after dark when the roof lights up.
There is also the older festival ground in Nampo-dong — BIFF Square — which is where the festival began and is now a street-food strip year-round rather than a screening venue.
If you are choosing dates and the festival is not the draw, note that hotels in Haeundae are at their most expensive and most booked that week. Where to stay covers the alternatives.
- The original festival street: BIFF Square — the street food alley
- Booking a bed that week: Where to stay in Busan
- The other big autumn night: Busan Fireworks Festival
Frequently asked questions
When is BIFF 2026?
October 6 to 15, 2026 — the 31st Busan International Film Festival.
When does BIFF ticket booking open?
In two waves, both Korean time. The first opened at 14:00 on September 17 for the opening and closing ceremonies, outdoor screenings, late-night films and special venues; the second opens at 14:00 on September 21 for regular screenings, cinema classes and master classes.
When is the screening schedule published?
It went up at 17:00 on September 11, 2026. Every film now has a time and a venue, so you can pick what to see before the second booking wave opens at 14:00 on September 21.
Where do I buy tickets?
Online at the official site, biff.kr. There is no reseller worth using. The festival call center is 1666-9177, running September 7 to October 23.
Can I just buy at the box office during the festival?
Only for seats left over or returned. Box offices sell remaining and canceled tickets after the online allocation has gone, so arriving on the day expecting to get into a popular screening is a common way to see nothing.
Where does BIFF take place?
Mainly the Busan Cinema Center in Centum City, Haeundae-gu, which hosts the ceremonies and much of the program. Other screenings run at partner cinemas across the city, so check the venue on each film — Centum City to Nampo-dong is close to an hour.
Is BIFF worth visiting without tickets?
There is open-air programming around the Cinema Center and the building is worth seeing after dark. But if you want to watch films, book — the box office is not a second chance at a sold-out screening.
