Pusan International Film Festival,
                                   7th-15th October 2010

                              
History/background information
For those who are not familiar with PIFF, it is the biggest film festival in Korea and is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. It’s now in its 15th year and given its relatively short history compared to the likes of Cannes, or Venice, it has done extraordinarily well to become such an iconic film festival in the world festival calendar. As the name of the festival would suggest, it is in an international film festival, so it will screen a large number of films from all over the world, but it also remains faithful to the local industry and hosts programmes specifically focused on Korean cinema. These programmes will normally be split into two; one programme will screen some of the latest Korean films, whereas a different programme will usually screen some older, or classic Korean films, usually focused on a particular director or actor. This year they are screening films, which star Kim Jimi – a star in her own right, who appeared in films from the late 50s to the 1980s amassing a total of over 700 appearances. Tracking her roles throughout her 30-year career is a compelling way of exploring Korean cinema during this period.

The currents programme, for me, is interesting each year as it picks a selection of box office hits and more independent cinema – this is where the likes of Kim Ki-duk began to establish a name for himself – and is thus, one of the highlights of the festival. Each film that is selected will often have a QV (Quest Visit), so there is an opportunity to meet the cast and director, which is a real highlight for some. And, when discussing PIFF, one cannot ignore the beautiful setting of Haeundai beach where much of the film festival is based. Heaundae beach is arguably the most popular beach in Korea and attracts thousands and thousands of Koreans each summer, but every October, its picturesque sandy beach plays host to PIFF and when you come out of the cinema, there is nothing better than having a nice stroll on the beach – it puts the icing on the cake, as it were. In October, it is surprisingly nice and warm, so if you ever have a chance to visit PIFF, please do. It also interesting to see the numbers of young Koreans who flood to PIFF to watch the films and get a glimpse of the stars – it’s illustrative of the love Koreans have for their local cinema, even it has drained a little, in recent years.

There is going to be a press conference tomorrow, which will no doubt reveal more information about this year’s festival and all important line-up. But I will bring up-to-speed with the current developments.

 
As mentioned above, the retrospective section, which covers older Korean films, will explore the work of Kim Jimi (김지미). While she appeared in over 700 films – it would be impossible to screen all of them(!) – it will screen eight films she stared in, which will span the period in which she worked. They are as follows:

Three O’Clock in a Rainy Day / 비오는 날의 오후세시, Park Jong-ho (박종호) (1959)
Tiger Moth / 불나비, Jo Hae-won (조해원) (1965)
How’s your wife / 댁의 부인은 어떠십니까, Lee Seong-gu (이성구) (1966)
Earth, The / 토지, Kim Soo-young (김수용) (1975)
Promise of the Flesh / 육체의 약속, Kim Ki-young (김기영) (1975)
Eul-Wha / 을화, Byun Jang-ho (변장호) (1979)
Kilsodeum, Gilsotteum / 길소뜸, Im Kwon-taek (임권택) (1985)
Ticket /  티켓, Im Kwon-taek (임권택) (1986)

This is Kim Jimi in Im Kwon taek's Ticket /  티켓,

This section is sponsored by the French luxury brand, Hermes.
 
As for the other programmes, details of the films will no doubt be released and I will endeavour to inform you as soon as I can.

The New Currents Section and the Flash Forward Section

PIFF wouldn’t be a film festival without some kind of competition and they have various programmes that allow films to compete. This year, it has been announced that world renowned costume designer, Wada Emi, will head the jury for the New Currents section – this section seeks to discover Asian talented directors. She will be joined by Yang Kuei-mei, Actress (Blackhole, 2000)) from Taiwan, Kim Yun-jin, Actress (Shiri, Lost – TV Series) from Korea, Murali Nai, director (A Dog’s Day) from India and Christoph Terechte (a publicist) from Germany.  
 
The jury for the Flash Forward Section, which seeks to find talented non-Asian directors, will be headed by America’s Sundance Film Festival Director, John Cooper. He will be joined by Thomas Elsaesser (Film Scholar) from Germany, Lee Kwang-mo (director and producer) from Korea, Alexei Popogrebsky (director) from Russia and Jasmila Zbanic (director) from Bosnia and Hercegovina.
 
There are also two other awards, the PIFF Mecenat Award and the NetPac award, which both have appointed juries, from all over the world.

The Asian Film Market, 10th-13th October

 It also important to note that PIFF is essentially split into two parts – the first part is the actual festival where the competitions and the guest visits take place. The second part is the Asian Film Market, which provides a venue in Pusan to facilitate deals between sellers and buyers, and to help secure funding for films. It may not mean completed deals exactly, but it helps establish business relationships, which in turn, may result in a collaboration of a deal somewhere along the lines. It is indeed a platform, for which, Korean films can be sold to various to distributors all over the world on home soil. The Asian Film Market runs from the 10th -13th October 2010. As the market draws to a close and announcements of deals and acquisitions are made, here at koreanfilm.org.uk, we will make sure you hear about them, especially acquisitions made for distribution in the UK.

Pusan Production Plan (PPP)

Since its launch in 1998, PPP has a certain number of projects each year - this year there are 27 - that are introduced to various investors and producers to help secure funding at PIFF. It has been very successful with a variety of successful projects such as Bong Joon-ho's The Host, which is illustrative of its success. Korean films are chosen together with projects from all over the world. It is a tremendous opportunity for filmmakers and investors alike, as it gives filmmakers an opportunity to obtain funding and distribution, while at the same time, it gives investors a chance to discover new and existing talent.

The 27 projects chosen for this year are as follows (Korean projects and co-projects are in bold):

Anarchy, dir. Maryam NAJAFI (Iran)

Asphyxia, dir. Asli ÖZGE (Turkey-Germany)

Baby Blue (La Belle Déesse), dir. Daniel H. BYUN (Korea)

The Diary of a Young Boy, dir. TSAI Ming Liang (Taiwan-France)

Extraordinary Me, dir. Mouly SURYA (Indonesia)

Falling In Love (working title), dir. LEE J-Yong (Korea)

Flapping In The Middle Of Nowhere, dir. NGUYEN Hoang Deip (Vietnam)

Howling (working title), dir. Yoo Ha (Korea)

It Must Be A Camel, dir. Charlotte LIM Lay Kuen (Malaysia)

Khibula, dir. George OVASHVILI (Georgia)

Miracle, dir. Toshio LEE (Japan)

Pablo Trapero’s Project (working title), dir. Pablo TRAPERO (Argentina-Korea)

The Psycho Virus, dir. Oxide PANG (Hong Kong-China)

The Rainbow, dir. Yolkin TUICHIEV (Uzbekistan)

Red Coal, dir. XIE Fei (China)

Remote Control, dir. Byamba SAKHYA (Mongolia-France)

Shiiku, dir. Rithy PANH (Cambodia-France)

Somalia, dir. KIM Kyunghyung (Korea)

Starry Starry Night, dir. LIN Shu-Yu (Taiwan)

Stoma, dir. Julian LEE (China)

Suika and Kinoko, dir. Naoko OGIGAMI (Japan)

Television, dir. Mostofa Sarwar FAROOKI (Bangladesh)

The Thieves, dir. CHOI Donghun (Korea)

A Thousand Boys (working title), dir. Akan SATAYEV (Kazakhstan-Russia)

The Train Station, dir. Mohamed AL-DARADJI (Iraq-UK-Netherlands)

Underground Fragrance, dir. Pengfei SONG (China-France)

The White Room, dir. Anocha SUWICHAKORNPONG (Thailand-Japan-UK)

You can find out what Korean films being shown at this year's PIFF here. Films range from Im Sang-soo's Housemaid / 하녀 to Kim Tae-young's latest Late Autumn. This year's PIFF cannot be missed!

Source: PIFF website