The films receiving the most attention at this film festival are, of course, director Kwak Kyung-taek's new film 'My Dad Zombie' and Eo Content Group's mystery horror 'Focus'. Director Kwak Kyung-taek, who has been a part of the Korean film industry with rough action and narrative, attempts a genre variation by introducing a new persona called human comedy through this new work. ‘Focus’ is also showing off the power of Korean genre films by being named in the competition category of ‘Bucheon Choice Korean’. In particular, ‘Focus’ uses the camera, an everyday tool, as a medium of fear, and shows excellent directing skills by using the audience’s gaze as a psychological mechanism for anxiety. In this way, the film festival serves as a platform where new production companies and master directors coexist and constantly expand the scope of Korean genre films.

The external growth of the film festival is not limited to simply improving the quality of the entries. To commemorate its 30th anniversary, Bucheon City ambitiously planned the ‘July Carnival’ to turn the entire city into a festival, and prepared a number of audience-friendly side events through collaboration with various companies. The fact that companies such as vegan personal care brand ‘OffOn’ operate brand experience booths at film festival sites proves that film festivals are no longer the exclusive preserve of filmmakers, but are evolving into a complex cultural space that interacts with the public. In addition, efforts to secure diversity in genre films through various sections, such as special exhibitions containing the perspectives of female directors, are also notable. These changes are interpreted as an active strategy for the film festival to reach beyond the fan base and reach out to the general public.

However, behind the excitement of the festival lies the serious task of transparency in budget execution. The budget invested in this year's film festival is a huge public resource amounting to 6.5 billion won, including about 6 billion won in support from Bucheon City and corporate sponsorships. Nevertheless, the attitude of Bucheon City revealed during the reporting process is quite disappointing. City officials have consistently taken an irresponsible attitude of saying they “don’t know” or “it’s difficult to answer” about the use of donations or the accounting management system because they are not in charge of operating the film festival. Despite being a public festival in which citizens' taxes are invested, the absence of a verification process or post-evaluation system for budget flow is a serious flaw that threatens the sustainability of the film festival.

Experts agree that as the scale of the film festival grows, appropriate accounting accountability and management and supervision systems must be established. The more the structure mixes local government subsidies and private donations, accounting transparency is not an option but an essential survival condition. Some point out that with this 30th anniversary, the film festival should break away from its closed operation method and establish an information disclosure system that allows citizens to transparently monitor the budget execution process. Bucheon City should also not remain as a simple support agency, but as a management entity for public events, it should show a responsible attitude by carefully examining performance evaluation and budget adequacy. If transparency commensurate with its status is not guaranteed, there is a high risk that the glory of the 30th anniversary will ultimately become a palace for history.