[Movie] PIFF's Choices Reaffirmed at Major International Film Festivals

"I'm in Trouble!", Our Fantastic 21st Century and more films world-premiered at the PIFF (Pusan International Film Festival) have been invited to the Berlin International Film Festival

Paju has been chosen as the opening film for the International Film Festival Rotterdam and Mundane History is in the Tiger Awards Competition

The PIFF's choices have been endorsed once again at major international film festivals. Films accredited by PIFF are also earning praise at other major film festivals. The PIFF organization committee said on January 14 that a number of films which had their world premier at the PIFF have been invited to the Berlin International Film Festival, one of the world's three largest and most prestigious film festivals.

"'I'm in Trouble!', the winner of the New Currents Award (director: So Sang-min) and 'Our Fantastic 21st Century' (director: Ryoo Hyeong-gi), both of which were selected in the Vision section of the Korean Cinema Today, have been invited to the Forum section of the 60th Berlin International Film Festival, scheduled to open on February 11.

'I'm in Trouble!' deals with the conventional theme of love and romance, based on the personal experiences of the director himself. "The characters are clearly defined and the sophisticated long takes give a very unique feel to the film.

Most of all, we are particularly impressed by the director's ability to find a balance between these two elements", said the jury for the New Currents Award. "Our Fantastic 21st Century" is a saddening yet down-to-earth portrait of those in their mid and late 20s collectively referred to as the "880,000-won generation" in Korea.

Parade by Isao Yukisada, who has a close affinity to Busan, has also been invited to the Panorama section of the film festival. Parade, which had its world premier in A Window on Asian Cinema section at the PIFF last year, is about the efforts of four young men and women living in the same apartment to build relationships and resolve conflicts.

Yukisada - who declared, "I owe a lot to the PIFF" - will take part in the Busan Project ("Camellia") scheduled for launch in Busan at the end of this month. "A Brand New Life" by Ounie Lecomte, one of the recipient projects of the Pusan Promotion Plan, will also feature in the "Generation K Plus" segment.

The PIFF, which places strong emphasis on the cinematic quality and artistic character of movies, has had its selections reaffirmed at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Paju has been invited as the opener, while Mundane History by Anocha Suwichakornpong and My Daughter by Charlotte Lim have been listed among the fifteen films invited to compete for the VPRO Tiger Awards. All of these films had their world premier at the PIFF.

The 39th International Film Festival Rotterdam begins on January 27. PIFF programmer Hong Hyo-sook has been appointed to the jury for the NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) Award at the festival.

Source: The Kookje Daily News