Michelle Yeoh named Busan film festival's Asian Filmmaker of the Year
Michelle Yeoh will receive the Asian Filmmaker of the Year award at the Busan International Film Festival opening ceremony on October 6. The honour, alongside a special programme of her selected films, underlines her long association with BIFF and her impact on Asian cinema.
- Aug 06, 2026,
- Updated Aug 06, 2026, 3:25 PM IST
Oscar-winning actor Michelle Yeoh will be honoured as the Asian Filmmaker of the Year at the 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), recognising her outstanding contribution to the growth of Asian cinema.
The award will be presented during the festival's opening ceremony on October 6 at the Busan Cinema Centre. The event will be hosted by Pachinko actor Kim Minha.
Yeoh began her acting career in Hong Kong action films with Yes, Madam! (1985) before earning acclaim for performances in Police Story 3: Supercop (1992) and Wing Chun (1994), helping redefine the portrayal of female action stars. She later rose to international prominence with the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), which achieved both critical and commercial success worldwide.
Her recent filmography includes Crazy Rich Asians (2018), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), Wicked (2024) and Star Trek: Section 31 (2025).
Yeoh made history with Everything Everywhere All at Once, becoming the first Asian performer to win the Academy Award for Best Actress. The role also earned her honours at the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Golden Globe Awards. Earlier this year, she became the first Asian woman to receive the Honorary Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.
The actor has maintained a longstanding association with BIFF since first attending in 2002 for the Pusan Promotion Plan, now known as the Asian Project Market. She has since returned with films including Far North (2007), Reign of Assassins (2010), The Lady (2011), Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy (2018) and Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). This year's appearance will mark her first walk on the BIFF red carpet since The Lady premiered at the festival in 2011.
To mark the honour, BIFF will host a 'Special Program in Focus' featuring three films selected by Yeoh — Reign of Assassins, Everything Everywhere All at Once and Sandiwara (2026). Her latest film, It's My Time (2026), will also be screened during the retrospective, Variety reported.
The 31st Busan International Film Festival will run from October 6 to 15 across the Busan Cinema Centre and other venues in the South Korean city. The 21st Asian Contents & Film Market will take place from October 10 to 13.