Indian movie to open Busan int`l film festival

A general schedule of the 5th Busan International Film Festival to be held on October 6-14 was confirmed. A total of 211 works from 55 countries will add to the festive mood in the film festival. "Wrestler" directed by Budadep Dasgubda was chosen as the opening piece and Wang Kawi`s "Hwayang Yonhwa" close the 18-day movie extravaganza.

¢¸ Wrestler
Programmer Kim Ji-Seok in charge of Asian movies said in a press conference at the Grand Ballroom of Plaza Hotel on September 4, "In the previous festivals, Japanese, Hong Kong, Chinese and Iranian movies opened the festival, and this year the Indian film will be the opener for the first time. In that "Wrestler" has love and peace as its main theme, it was chosen as the opening movie."

The upcoming movie festival is attracting attention from movie fans in that many Central Asian movies which could hardly be seen were invited and the number of movies directed by woman directors sharply increased.

Central Asian movies from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan will be shown as special program under the title of "Movies that crossed over Mt. Cheon." It was learned that female directors` works account for about 20 percent (about 40) of the invited movies

Among the special programs, a special exhibition entitled "Scent of Permanent Classic?Chunhyangjon (story of Chunhyang)" draws attention. Six movies with the motives of the classic novel "Chunhyangjon" from "Chunhyangjon" directed by Hong Sung-Ki in 1961 to Im Kwon-Taek`s "Chunhyangdyon" in 2000 will be screened.

¢¸ Hwayang Yonhwa
This year`s festival features some prominent foreign guests, including director Bim Vendus, new German cinema frontier, who directed "Paris Texas," "Poem of Berlin Angel," and "Million Dollar Hotel" to name a few. Ruic Vesson (to be confirmed) of France, who opened the nouvelle image, will visit Busan as a producer this time. At the same time, many famous Chinese and Japanese directors and actors will come to Busan during the festival.

The festival organizers had planned to invite several North Korean movies through mutual exchange with the Pyongyang International Film Festival organizers, but a delay in consultation with the government foiled the plan.

The organizers are also contacting top actress Chang Man-Ok of Hong Kong for her participation in the festival. The festival secretariat said that there is 90 percent possibility for her coming.

This year`s festival will also feature a program for three to four midnight shows every day to heat up the "nights of movie festival." Moviehouses were increased from 12 to 15, and Cine City Busan No. 6 Hall will be designated exclusively for industrial screening, so that foreign journalists and guests can view diverse Korean films.

Ticket reservations are available at each branch of Busan Bank, Seoul Theater, Busan Daeyong Theater and Outdoor Screen (in the precincts of Busan Suyong Bay Yachting Regatta), and the tickets are sold from September 22 (Friday). Reservations are also possible at the festival`s official homepage (www.piff.org). Admission fees are 10,000 won for the opening and closing films and 4,000 won for others. (Tel. 82-2-3675-5097)