Iranian cinema triumphs in Busan with Majid Majidi

The 31st edition of the Busan International Film Festival, held from October 6 to 15, 2026, recorded the largest audience in over a decade. This is reported by Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, both with reference to the festival’s closing ceremony, two independent sources that converge on the results.

The Busan Award for best film went to ‘Midday Meal’ (Ghazaye nimroz), by Iranian director Majid Majidi, the story of a rural teacher who struggles to feed his pupils. The win qualifies the film for the race for the best international feature film award at the 2027 Oscars, without having to go through Iran’s national selection process.

In his remarks at the closing ceremony, Majidi spoke out against the war in Iran. The director cited a US military attack that took place in February, which — according to what he reported — allegedly caused the deaths of 156 civilians, 120 of them children, and he dedicated the award to the Iranian people.

The rest of the awards recognized a plurality of cinematographies: the Special Jury Prize went to ‘Ibuku’ by Eddie Cahyono, an Indonesian and Japanese production, while the best director award was given to Lee Yun Chan for the Taiwanese film ‘To Be Ordinary’. The award for best actor was shared by Zhou Xun, for ‘The First Taste of Loneliness’, and Himeno Kashun, for ‘Satoko Always’.

The festival also marked Michelle Yeoh’s return to the red carpet after a 15-year absence, with her appointment as Asian Filmmaker of the Year, while Ann Hui received the Camellia Award. On the independent Indian cinema front, ‘Birds in the Dark’ by Shashank Walia won both the audience award and the New Currents Award, one of the most significant recognitions for regional Indian cinema, according to ETV Bharat.

The picture that emerges from Busan 2026 is that of a festival which, while remaining an Asian event by vocation, this year rewarded an Iranian film capable of directly paving its way to the Oscars, bypassing the mandatory passage through state selection required of many other national cinematographies.