Indian cinema will have a presence across multiple sections of the 30th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN), led by Dominic Arun's fantasy feature Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra and Sandeep Francis' short film Switch Off.
Selected for B Extreme, BIFAN's signature genre showcase, Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra draws on Kerala's folklore and mythology to tell the story of a mysterious woman whose hidden past gradually connects her to supernatural powers and an ancient destiny. Produced by Dulquer Salmaan under the Wayfarer Films banner, the Malayalam-language fantasy stars Kalyani Priyadarshan, Naslen, Arun Kurian, Chandu Salimkumar and Sandy Master. The film, which released theatrically in August 2025 and later streamed on JioHotstar, will make its Korean premiere at the festival.
BIFAN describes B Extreme as the section that most vividly embodies the festival's identity, bringing together action, thriller and horror cinema while exploring contemporary anxieties rooted in folklore, mythology and local taboos.
Meanwhile, Switch Off, directed by editor-turned-filmmaker Sandeep Francis, will have its world premiere in the Bucheon Choice: World Shorts competition. Francis is best known for editing the blockbuster thriller Drishyam and its sequel. His 10-minute film follows a seemingly dead mobile phone that suddenly comes back to life and begins documenting a man's reality and future, trapping him in a moment he cannot escape.
The festival will also screen a restored version of Sholay in its Strange Hommage section, dedicated to restored classics and digitally remastered works that have left a lasting mark on the history of genre cinema.
BIFAN 2026 runs from July 2–12 in Bucheon, South Korea.
Founded in 1997, the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) is Asia's leading festival dedicated to genre cinema, showcasing horror, fantasy, science fiction, thriller and other boundary-pushing films from around the world. The festival has become a key launchpad for emerging genre filmmakers and innovative genre storytelling.
