Weird, Freaky Films Galore at PiFan 2004

The Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival will open Wednesday in Puchon, Gyeonggi Province, marking its 8th anniversary. The festival will go on until July 24.
261 works (83 feature films and 178 short films) from 32 countries are participating in this festival. 72 more works will be put on screen this year than last year.

The opening film will be famous horror movie director Stuart Gordon's "King of the Ants". Gordon is famous for his 1980s horror films "Re-Animator" and "Dagon".

Another horror filmmaker, Ahn Byung-ki, gained his reputation as a professional horror movie director making "Nightmare" and "Phone", and his new film "Bunshinsaba" is the closing film of the festival.

"Puchon Choice" (features) is the competitive session where many fresh pieces from various nations will vie against each other.

The Belgian movie "Aaltra" possesses its own humor and sarcasm. The Australian zombie movie "Undead", and Japanese family drama "The Taste of Tea" are two of a total of 10 movies in the competition. They will compete in six fields including "Best Director Choice", "Best of Puchon", and "Jury's Choice".

"World Fantastic Cinema" will feature all sorts of movies, like horrors, thrillers, documentaries, science fiction and comedies. Toby Hooper's "Toolbox Murders" and Mamoru Oshii's "Innocence" will also be introduced during the festival. A wide range of murder weapons appear in "Toolbox Murders", while Oshii is famous for his previous anime film "Ghost in the Shell".

"Fantastic Short Films" have created Pifan's serious fans. An Estonian movie, "The Year of the Monkey", and a horror animation film, "Ward 13", are some of the eight contestants.

The "Family Section" includes Takashi Miike's "Zebraman" and Lee Sung-gang's new short film, "O-nu-ri".

Yu Hyun-mok's "An Empty Dream" is to be on the scene as a part of the "Korean Cinema Retrospective". The movie was made in 1965 and recently restored.

"Pioneers of Japanese Animation -- Tekobo to Momotaro", "Corps Fucking Art-The Film of Jorg Buttgereit", and "The Shaw Brothers Retrospective II -- An Ode to the Twilight" are the "Special Screenings" of PiFan2004.