The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) kicks off Thursday, with around 150 film celebrities and notable figures expected to grace the opening event. The opening ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. at Bucheon Art Center in Bucheon, located about 19 kilometers west of Seoul. Notable attendees include Son Ye-jin, featured in this year's special actor showcase, Park Joong-hoon, serving as jury president for the "Bucheon Choice: Feature" section, and Yeon Sang-ho, director of "Train to Busan" and the Netflix horror series "Parasyte: The Grey." The annual film fest, a celebration of genre films from around the world, will screen 255 shorts and features from 49 countries during its run through July 14. The queer noir "Love Lies Bleeding," starring Kristine Stewart, opens the festival, depicting Lou and Jackie's romance entangled with an accidental murder. The closing film, "Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In," focuses on Cyclone, ruler of Hong Kong's lawless Kowloon Walled City, and the protagonist Lok Koon. BIFAN has selected eight genre films for the international competition section, "Bucheon Choice," including Thea Hvistendahl's "Handling the Undead" and Liao Ming-yi's "Suffocating Love," among others. For its 28th edition, BIFAN introduces a new award category for AI-generated films, becoming the first Korean film festival to recognize this emerging technology in cinema. A total of 15 movies have been invited to compete in the category, including "One More Pumpkin" by Korean director Kwon Han-seul. AI-generated entries will be judged on their artistic merit and message, not just the technology used, according to the organizer. The fest will also host industry experts to explore AI's impact on filmmaking and its broader implications for cinema. Actress Son Ye-jin will be featured in a special section highlighting actors, introducing her filmography from the last 23 years. As one of the country's leading actresses, she has appeared in numerous hit films, including "My Wife Got Married" (2008), "T he Pirates" (2014) and "The Last Princess" (2016). Established in 1997, BIFAN has evolved into South Korea's largest genre film festival, held annually in Bucheon. Source: Yonhap News Agency