The jury of the 11th Pusan International Film Festival's New Currents section appointed two winners this year: Malaysian feature Love Conquers All and the Chinese film Betelnut. Director TAN Chui Mui's Love Conquers All was regarded as a strong contender for the award, while Betelnut - directed by YANG Heng – was a surprise choice.
TAN Mui Chui is a renowned independent filmmaker who previously won acclaim for her short films. Love Conquers All is her feature film debut. The film's plot, about a woman arriving from the countryside to Kuala Lumpur and the disappearance of a man who tried hard to win her heart, is told in a subtle way.
YANG Heng's Betelnut depicts several young people spending their summer in a small town in China. The laid-back summer is disrupted when they become wrapped up in romance, only to have their regular lives continue after the summer passes.
Korean contenders for the New Currents award were Park Heung-sik's < The Railroad > and Kim Tae-sik's < Driving With My Wife's Lover >, both of which had their world premiere at Pusan. In < Driving With My Wife's Lover >, a man intentionally takes the taxi of his wife's lover to confront him, only to realize that they might really be in love. The Railroad depicts two unhappy persons – a man and a woman - thrown together during a night of heavy snow after they independently took the last train to the final stop before the DMZ.
The New Currents program is aimed at discovering new talents, and is the most high-profile award of the festival. This year's jury was headed by director Istvan Szabo, an Academy Award winner from Hungary. Acclaimed Korean actress Moon So-ri was also a member of the jury.
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