Awarded Korean Productions at PIFF

Director Noh Kyeong-tae's "The Last Dining Table" was awarded the NETPAC award for best Korean film at the 2006 Pusan International Film Festival. The NETPAC jury of the festival's 11th edition praised the film's unique style, humane portrayal of the lower class and the acting. The Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) seeks to promote and distribute Asian cinema internationally.

The Wide Angel section of the Pusan International Film Festival presented a wide variety of documentaries, short films, animations and experimental films worldwide. The Sunje award is to assist directors from Wide Angel with his/her future project. This year's USD 20,000,- prize for short films were awarded to directors Lee Jin-woo for The Wind Stirs and Yoon Seong-ho for Portfolio. The Wind Stirs thanked its award to the characterization and Portfolio for its experimental elements. There is a Special Mention for CHOI Young-jun's Merry Christmas because of the potential shown.

The Woonpa Fund for the best documentary is another Wide Angel cash award of USD 20,000,-. Kim Deok-cheol's "People Crossing The River" and Kim Myeong-joon's "Our School" are the winners. The Special Mention is for 16 Takes on Korean Society, a collaboration between seventeen independent Korean film makers. People Crossing The River reflects upon the relation between Korea and Japan through individual stories. Our School follows third and fourth generation Koreans in a high school in Hokkaido, Japan.

CJ Entertainment/CJ CGV in conjunction with PIFF selected five films among the films at the festival for their CJ Collection. Ning Hao's Crazy Stone (China), Tominaga Mai's Wool 100 percent (Japan), Paolo Villaluna and Ellen Ramos' Illusion (Phillipines), Ho Yuhang's Rain Dogs (Malaysia), and Lee Kung Lok and Wong Ching Po's My Mother is a Belly Dancer (Hong Kong) will be released in Korean cinemas and on DVD.

The festival audience's favorite film was the Vietnamese The White Silk Dress by director Huynh Luu. The award is a USD 10,000,- prize titled the KNN Audience Award and is from the Pusan Broadcasting Cultural Foundation.

Yi Ch'ang-ho (KOFIC)