The 12th Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) has announced that Iranian director Dariush MEHRJUI is to head the jury of this year's New Currents awards section during the upcoming event which takes place October 4th – 12th. MEHRJUI has won numerous awards during his over 40-year filmmaking career, including the Venice Critic's Award for his second feature The Cow (1970).
Also on the jury are celebrated Korean director Lee Chang-dong, whose "Secret Sunshine" won the Best Actress prize at Cannes this year, fellow Cannes competitor Cristian MUNGIU of Romania, who took home the Palme d'Or for 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days, award-winning Chinese actress Nan YU, and top director Goran Paskaljevic of Serbia. They will select 3 films from the New Currents section for awards worth US$ 30 000 each.
On the Jury of the US$10 000 Sonje Award, given to the best short or documentary film in PIFF's Wide Angle section, are three Korean filmmakers: documentary director, Choi-ha Dong-ha, independent film producer, KIM Il-kwon, and independent filmmaker Lee Song-hee-il ("No Regret").
The Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award was also announced, and will this time honor late Taiwanese director Edward YANG who passed away in June 2007. YANG pioneered the Taiwanese New Wave with such world cinema classics as A Brighter Summer Day (1991) and Yi-yi: A One and a Two (2000). His wife and creative partner Kaili Peng will receive the award on his behalf.
This year's Korean Cinema Awards are to be given to Sabrina Baracetti from Italy, head of the Udine Far East Film Festival and Jean-François Rauger from France, head programmer of the Cinémathèque Française. The awards honor the two for raising the profile and awareness of Korean cinema internationally.
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