Korean Films at Shanghai Int. Film Festival

A record 11 Korean features will be shown in the official selection of this years 9th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) to take place June 17th to the 25th. Among them PARK Jin-pyo's 2005 film You Are My Sunshine will run in the official competition section for the Jin Jue Award. Another Korean film, Jo Chang-ho's The Peter Pan Formula has been selected as a candidate for the Asian New Talent Award.

Two Korean directors KWAK Gyeong-Taek (Friend, "Typhoon") and BONG Joon-ho (The Host, "Memories of Murder") have been invited to sit on the Jin Jue Award jury which will this year be presided over by French director Luc Besson. Other directors on the jury include Stanly Kwan and Gabriella Salvatores.

9 Korean films will be showing in SIFF's Panorama section with its slogan, 'a great party for films around the world'. Included are KIM Ki-duk's "The Bow", MIN Gyoo-dong's "All for Love" ("My Lovely Week"), PARK Chan-wook's Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, LEE Woo-cheol's "Cello", JEONG Jae-eun's The Aggressives, KIM Hyeon-seok's When Romance Meets Destiny, PARK Yeong-hoon's Innocent Steps, KIM Dong-won's My Boss, My Teacher and CHOI Seok-won's My Boyfriend is Type-B.

The Jin Jue Film Forum will bring together various international film industry leaders to discuss issues of Asian regional co-operation, international capital and film collaborations between China, Europe, and Asia, as well a forums on combating piracy, training seminars and Master Classes. Director Ang Lee will participate in a forum on similarities and differences between Hollywood and Chinese cinema. OSEAM director SEONG Baek-yeob will participate in a forum on Animation and Regional Co-operation, and director Anthony Minghella will give a talk.

There will be a total of 14 World Premiers, 25 International Premiers, and of the Chinese films being shown, 14 were completed in 2006. 19 official cinemas have been selected to host the festival in downtown Shanghai.

The 9th SIFF opening film will be The White Countess, an international co-production from the Merchant-Ivory team. Scripted by famed novelist Kazuo Ishiguro, the film stars Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, and Vanessa Redgrave, and is set in Shanghai in the 1930's.

Nigel D'Sa (KOFIC)