"Planet of Snail" to compete at Amsterdam doc fest

Korea-Japan-Finland documentary "Planet of Snail", directed by Yi Seung-Jun,will be in the prestigious International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA)Competition for Feature-Length Documentary.

Part poetry and realistic romance, the documentary is about a young man who began to lose his sight and hearing in childhood. He refers to himself as a snail because he has to depend on his tactile sense toexperience the world. In the midst of his loneliness, he meets a kindred spirit and falls in love, becomes an active member of society and continues his education in less-than-ideal circumstances.

"Planet of Snail" won accolades even before completion, getting a Sundance Documentary Film Grant and winning the Grand Prize at the EBS International Documentary Film Festival (EIDF) Documentary pitch in 2009. "Planet of Snail" also screened at the 12th Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF).

Director Yi Seung-Jun's other credits include Children of God (2008) and Flowers, Two Women's Story (2007) as well as Invisible War-India Bihar Report (2000).

The IDFA was founded in 1988 in order to stimulate national and international documentary culture. The 24th IDFA will run Nov. 16 – 27 this year, screening 327 titles selected from more than 3,600 submissions.Of these in the line-up, 88 documentaries will have their world premières during the festival.

A total of 16 films will be compete to win the VPRO IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary, consisting of a sculpture and a €12,500 cash prize.The winner will be announced on Nov. 25. Other films in the competition include Werner Herzog's Into the Abyss, David Fisher's Six Million & One, Frank Scheffer's Gozaran - Time Passing, and Robert H. Lieberman's They Call it Myanmar - Lifting the Curtain.