Afghanistan actress Marina Golbahari and South Korean actor Song Kang-ho wave as they arrive to attend the opening ceremony of the Busan International Film Festival in Busan, South Korea, Thursday.

Stars from Asia and beyond gathered in South Korea’s second largest city on Thursday for a Bollywood-flavored launch of the 20th Busan International Film Festival.

The event styles itself as the most influential of its kind in a region enjoying stellar growth in box-office receipts and increasing clout in the global movie market. BIFF’s founding mission was to celebrate the global reach of cinema and champion the cause of the industry in Asia, and Thursday’s opening ceremony at the sprawling Busan Cinema Center was aimed at reflecting its success in reaching those goals.

The main feature is the world premiere of debut Indian director Mozez Singh’s “Zubaan” — a coming-of-age drama about a young Sikh musician and the first time a Bollywood offering has opened BIFF.

Hosting duties for the opening ceremony were shared between South Korean actor Song Kang-Ho and Afghan actress Marina Golbahari.

Joining them on the red carpet were a pack of Asian cinema heavyweights, including Chinese actress Tang Wei, Masami Nagasawa from Japan, and Taiwan’s Chang Chen.

Among the international guests attending the Oct. 1-10 event are Hollywood veteran Harvey Keitel, British actress Tilda Swinton and France’s Sophie Marceau.

BIFF has been credited with nurturing the careers of numerous Asian filmmakers and some of them will be on hand for the 20th anniversary event, including Chinese directors Jia Zhangke and Feng Xiaogang, and Taiwanese auteur Tsai Ming-Liang.

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