The 12th Pusan International Film Festival, which kicked off its nine-day schedule on Thursday, attracted star-gazers from all over the country, with numerous actors and filmmakers hitting key venues amid the festive mood.
The festival, featuring 275 films from 64 countries, got into full swing over the weekend, with fans descending on the southeastern port city of Busan to watch Asian stars and their latest films.
While the glitzy red-carpet events played out in and around Haeundae Beach, the organizers also cast a light on where the Asia's leading film festival is headed. At a news conference held on Friday, New Currents jury committee said the truthfulness will be a key factor in screening out a new Asian film of choice.
Dariush Mehrju, diector of New Currents jury, said, "Director's career or social and political leanings are not major issues, so we will focus on the logic and value of the movie as an important element".
Eleven movies compete for the prestigious New Currents award, a gateway for aspiring Asian filmmakers.
Cristian Mungiu, a leading Romanian filmmaker and a jury member, said, "I often get questions like whether I'm making a movie for only film festivals, but I firmly believe that all directors should make films for the audiences". Mungiu received Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival this year with his latest film "4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days".
On Saturday night, PIFF held a special program to honor those who contributed to the promotion of Korean cinema and Asian film industry. The Korean Cinema Award went to Sabrina Baracetti, festival head of Udine Fast East Film Festival, and Jean-Francois Rauger, head programmer of the Cinematheque Francaise, Paris, for their ardent efforts to introduce Korean films to non-Korean audiences.
In addition, the Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award was given to the late Taiwanese director Edward Yang. On behalf of the pioneer of the Taiwanese New Wave, Kaili Peng, Yang's wife, received the award. "Today marks the 100th day since he passed away, and my husband must be really happy to receive this honor from PIFF", she said.
At the ceremony, about 300 actors, filmmakers and film industry officials were on hand.
Meanwhile, the downtown of Busan was constantly bombarded by a stream of Korean and Asian stars. One of the highlights on Saturday was the Open Talk session held at an outdoor stage in Haeundae. The event, involving Jeon Do-yeon and Kang Soo-yeon, attracted more than 1,500 Busan citizens and visitors, filling up the narrow street leading up to the venue.
Jeon talked with Kang over the film festival, personal life and movies, while local and foreign media covered the event eagerly, reflecting her surging fame after she received the best actress award at Cannes for her impressive role in "Secret Sunshine", directed by Lee Chang-dong.
The film festival also invited numerous Asia-wide celebrities including Takuya Kimura, a top-rated actor and singer in Japan. Kimura briefly held a session with Korean fans in Seoul on Thursday and held a formal press conference in Busan on Friday.
Kimura's visit to PIFF came as his latest film, "Hero", is set to be released in Korea on Nov. 1. At the conference held at Paradise Hotel, more than 200 reporters as well as some Japanese fans rushed to cover Kimura. "We shot some scenes in Busan, and my impression was that Busan is the city of film, and we got many help from the city", he said.
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