Busan 2025: How Locations Shape Asian Productions, From “The Dark Knight” to “K-Pop Demon Hunters”

A scroll through cinema history reveals a selection of unique, now-iconic locations that have become synonymous with the movies they have helped bring to life.

Think David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia and the sands of Jordan’s Wadi Rum (utilized for modern audiences in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune films). Think the Caped Crusader on the rooftop of Hong Kong’s International Finance Centre (IFC) Tower in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight.

From “Ice Age” to AI: Filmmakers at Busan Weigh Opportunities and Concerns for Creative Industries

Carlos Saldanha could well have been speaking for many of those gathered on the sidelines of this year’s 30th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) when the filmmaker behind such cutting-edge animated hits as Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006), Rio (2011), and the Oscar-nominated Ferdinand (2017) turned his attention to the growing influence of Artificial Intelligence across the creative industries.

The Brazilian, among the generation of animators who were among the first to adapt CGI techniques to their creations,