11th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan)

Korea's second-largest film event, the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan) is also Asia's top genre film fest. This year running July 12th to the 21st, the fantasy fueled fest will screen 215 films, opening with Korean director Hwang Kyoo-deok's supernatural romance "For Eternal Hearts" and closing with hit Indonesian thriller, Kala by Joko Anwar.

The festival's chief competition section Puchon Choice will present 10 features from Asia, Europe and the USA, including Korean independent film "Resurrection of the Butterfly" by Kim Min-sook. The 60-film World cinema section will screen films from around the globe including premiers of Korean films "Beautiful Sunday", Aseurai and Code of a Duel, the later two being DV works. Previous local releases "Texture of Skin" and "Cinderella" will also screen here, while Jang Jin's drama "A Day with My Son" and animated feature "Robot Taekwon V" (1976) will play in the Family section.

Each year PiFan also unearths treasures from the Korean vault, with this year's focus presenting several works by a master of social satire, director LEE Bong-Rae. The program will present LEE's most celebrated comedy "A Petty Middle Manager" (1961) along with three other works, "A New Wife" (1962), "A Salary Man" (1962) and "The Door of the Body" (1965). The director is best known for his family comedies which feature witty dialogue and a critical stance towards bureaucracy and corrupt agents of power.

The festival will also include workshops by top Asian artists in special-effects make-up and private industry screenings of 19 genre films for Korean buyers and distributors.

Nigel D'Sa (KOFIC)