Kim Jong-kwan’s ‘The Table: Day and Night’ to Open Busan

The 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has selected “The Table: Day and Night,” directed by Kim Jong-kwan, as its opening film for the 2026 edition, marking the feature’s world premiere.

The film tracks four couples moving through different stages of love inside the same cafe over the course of a summer and autumn, told through low-key, conversational scenes. It follows Yoo-jin (Kim Minha) and Hyeon-oh (Joo Jong-hyuk), who cross paths after visiting the cafe at separate times of day; Sang-mi (Han Sun-hwa) and Young-min (Chang Ryul), middle school friends reconnecting unexpectedly; web novelist Hye-jin (Shim Eun-kyung) and independent filmmaker Dong-nam (Lee Hee-jun), who find a creative spark between them; and idol trainee Na-kyeong (Jeon So-young) and her boyfriend Jong-su (Kim Dong-hwi), caught in a bittersweet moment together. The film leans on the cafe’s constant churn of strangers coming and going to draw out each character’s voice, temperament and quirks at a brisk clip.

Kim first drew notice for his handling of quiet emotional material. His 2004 debut short, “How to Operate a Polaroid Camera,” earned the jury’s special prize when it played at the Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival. He followed that with the shorts “Slowly” (2005) and “Phantoms of the Archive” (2014) before making his feature debut with “Come, Closer” in 2010. His profile rose further when “Worst Woman” (2016) claimed the Fipresci Prize at Russia’s Moscow International Film Festival. Since then he has built out a distinctive body of work through features including “The Table” (2016), “Josée” (2020) and “Shades of the Heart” (2021), along with omnibus contributions to the Netflix original series “Persona” (2019), “Vestige” (2022) and “The Killers” (2024).

“The Table: Day and Night” returns to the four-stories-one-space structure Kim used in “The Table,” which played in Korean Cinema Today – Panorama at BIFF in 2016.

BIFF said in a statement: “‘The Table: Day and Night’ is an elegant and assured film in which the cinematic interests, style, perspective, and world that Kim Jong-kwan has persistently explored as a filmmaker reach a provisional culmination. Without relying on excessive setups or dramatic turns, its greatest merit lies in how thoughtfully it captures the unique inner voices and emotions of its characters, as well as the subtle shifts in their relationships. Featuring a strong ensemble cast, including Kim Minha, Joo Jong-hyuk, Han Sun-hwa, Chang Ryul, Shim Eun-kyung, Lee Hee-jun, Jeon So-young and Kim Dong-hwi, the film brings together acclaimed performers and promising newcomers, showcasing their chemistry and ensemble performances to full effect. For its vibrant yet grounded tone, ‘The Table: Day and Night’ has been selected as the opening film for the 31st Busan International Film Festival.”

Kim is also preparing the local release of “Frosted Window” alongside the Busan premiere of “The Table: Day and Night.”

The 31st Busan International Film Festival runs Oct. 6-15. The 21st Asian Contents & Film Market runs Oct. 10-13.