Fantastic 13
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13th Puchon (Bucheon) International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan) Opens July 16-26
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
The number 13 is considered bad luck in many cultures but the Puchon (Bucheon) International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan) relishes in triskaidekaphobia, or fear of the ominous digit.
The genre film event opens its 13th edition from July 16 to 26 in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. Featuring a record lineup of 202 films from 41 countries, the special anniversary "is a chance to renew its `fantastic' spirit", PiFan festival director Han Sang-jun told The Korea Times in a recent interview in Seoul.
"Fantastic films" are more than just about highflying fantasy, and also refer to the French word "fantasme", which means mental fixation or irrational belief. In the 1950s, Europe saw the birth of small-scale events celebrating such themes through horror, thriller and science-fiction genres, said Han.
"Now fantastic film festivals have expanded their scope to include films that showcase groundbreaking technology or cross-genre works that mix horror and melodrama or comedy, like `Ghost Busters', for example", said the former film professor of Chung-Ang University.
Conceived in 1997, a year after the Pusan (Busan) International Film Festival (PIFF), the largest cinema event in Korea and Asia, PiFan has grown to become Asia's leading genre film festival _ despite the fact that the monsoon rain inevitably hits during the weeklong affair.
"We considered changing the date to the fall season, but our fans come back each year despite the heat and humidity. The image has stuck with us most positively, as an exciting midsummer festivity for the young", said Han.
Over the years, as the film festival expanded, some hardball fans of fantastic cinema complained of the event's increasingly mainstream appeal while other moviegoers that aren't particularly fans of slasher films and such felt it was too genre-specific. "It was always a challenge to satisfy both groups", said Han, who was the head programmer of the event before taking on his current position three years ago.
"European fantastic film festivals feature about 100 films, while we have twice as many. We continue to spotlight the latest trends in fantastic cinema, but as much as we're hosting the event in Bucheon, it is also important to cater to the local movie-going crowd. So what we did was clearly define sections", he said.
Those who want a big bite of the grotesque can indulge in PiFan's signature section Bucheon Choice, which features the latest trends in fantastic cinema, or Forbidden Zone, which includes such suggestive films as the carnivorous "Meat Grinder" (Thailand, 2009).
Meanwhile, families can enjoy films in Off the Fantastic, which shows quality films from around the world that aren't bloody, or Ani Fanta, which provides a rare chance to see among others the classic animation "Detective Conan: The Raven Chaser" (Japan, 2009) on the big screen.
Leading Genre Festival
PiFan has now grown to surpass, in terms of size, many of its European counterparts such as Portugal's Fantasporto, which Han visited last year as a jury member. It is now the second largest event of its kind after the Sitges in Spain. The scale of the event is reflected in the number of premieres _ this year's edition includes 38 world premieres (movies being screened for the first time) and 26 international premieres (movies debuting outside of their home country).
In the past, PiFan looked to events such as the Brussels as role models, but now benchmarks larger ones like the Toronto International Film Festival according to Han.
"Of course, the European fantastic film festivals possess rich traditions and a long history, and there is much to learn in terms of their networking know-how. But we have grown so big that we are looking into larger models like the Toronto event, which features not only great films but also a film market and academic projects", he said.
In order to further establish PiFan's role as a major festival, a forward-thinking initiative was introduced last year, Network of Asian Fantastic Films (NAFF). NAFF, to take place concurrently with the festival from July 19 to 23, provides a platform for networking among cineastes, training ground for aspiring filmmakers and funding channels for creative projects, among others.
"As the largest genre film festival in Asia, we felt responsible to contribute to the long-term development of fantastic cinema", said the festival director. In addition to building the software, PiFan is planning hardware improvements, such as building more hotels and a bigger hall for the opening and closing events to cater to the increasing number of visitors.
This year, PiFan offers festivalgoers a free shuttle bus service that runs after-hours following late-night screenings.
Fantastic Films to Catch
"M.W". (Japan, 2009) by Hitoshi Amoto, a mainstream film inspired by a comic series about a government conspiracy, opens the 13th PiFan. On the closing night "Merantau" (2009) _ Indonesia's first ever martial arts film _ will make its world debut.
Ironically, Han said he personally does not like blood-splattering films. But working with PiFan changed his views. "I thought all the gore was just to create sensationalism. But I agree with many cineastes I met in Europe, that painful-to-watch films provide one relief: after two hours of gore, you learn to thank the bliss of everyday life", he said, smiling.
Han's personal definition of a good movie is one that surprises you. "Sometimes, a violent scene can be so intense that you have to close your eyes, but occasionally there are instances when the genius of the idea leaps over the gore and really impresses you", he said.
The festival director personally recommends films that appear in the section Fanta Masters: Vampires of Their Own, which shows vampire films by master directors such as Roman Polanski and Park Chan-wook, and the Korean film retrospective Erotiscape: 1980s Urban Erotica, which shows movies Han saw as a student.
Programmers Kwon Yong-min and Park Jin-hyung recommend the following films in each section:
Bucheon Choice: "Kaifec Murder" (Germany, 2009, international premiere) is a gothic-style mystery thriller based on a true story about a chain of gruesome murders on a farm back in 1922.
"Cold Souls" (U.S.A, 2009, Asia premiere) is a comedy noir that depicts the existential crisis of an actor, who decides to get his soul extracted at a lab.
Taiwan's first slasher movie, "Invitation Only" (2009, international premiere) is about an ordinary group of young men and women who get invited to an exclusive party. It's the best night of their lives until one of them ends up dead. The movie stars Taiwan's most popular screen beauties.
World Fantastic Cinema: Serbia's first zombie movie "Zone of the Dead" (2009, Asia premiere) features the aftermath of an ecological disaster, where Interpol zombies and undead prisoners have a final showdown.
Mobster flick "Versus" (Spain, 2008, international premiere) is representative of Spanish action films and offers the brilliance of low budget thrillers, with speedy narrative and stylish editing.
"Sexykiller" (Spain, 2008) is about a beautiful serial killer who likes to mix flirting and killing. It created a stir in Toronto and Sitges film festivals for its funny, sexy and outlandish storyline with a touch of sci-fi.
Off the Fantastic: "Yuvviraaj" (India, 2008) makes its Korean premiere. The Masala film features love, family and money troubles, as well as fantastic music by A.R. Rahman, who provided the score for "Slumdog Millionaire".
For more information about the festival, visit http://www.pifan.com (Korean and English).
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
The number 13 is considered bad luck in many cultures but the Puchon (Bucheon) International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan) relishes in triskaidekaphobia, or fear of the ominous digit.
The genre film event opens its 13th edition from July 16 to 26 in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. Featuring a record lineup of 202 films from 41 countries, the special anniversary "is a chance to renew its `fantastic' spirit", PiFan festival director Han Sang-jun told The Korea Times in a recent interview in Seoul.
"Fantastic films" are more than just about highflying fantasy, and also refer to the French word "fantasme", which means mental fixation or irrational belief. In the 1950s, Europe saw the birth of small-scale events celebrating such themes through horror, thriller and science-fiction genres, said Han.
"Now fantastic film festivals have expanded their scope to include films that showcase groundbreaking technology or cross-genre works that mix horror and melodrama or comedy, like `Ghost Busters', for example", said the former film professor of Chung-Ang University.
Conceived in 1997, a year after the Pusan (Busan) International Film Festival (PIFF), the largest cinema event in Korea and Asia, PiFan has grown to become Asia's leading genre film festival _ despite the fact that the monsoon rain inevitably hits during the weeklong affair.
"We considered changing the date to the fall season, but our fans come back each year despite the heat and humidity. The image has stuck with us most positively, as an exciting midsummer festivity for the young", said Han.
Over the years, as the film festival expanded, some hardball fans of fantastic cinema complained of the event's increasingly mainstream appeal while other moviegoers that aren't particularly fans of slasher films and such felt it was too genre-specific. "It was always a challenge to satisfy both groups", said Han, who was the head programmer of the event before taking on his current position three years ago.
"European fantastic film festivals feature about 100 films, while we have twice as many. We continue to spotlight the latest trends in fantastic cinema, but as much as we're hosting the event in Bucheon, it is also important to cater to the local movie-going crowd. So what we did was clearly define sections", he said.
Those who want a big bite of the grotesque can indulge in PiFan's signature section Bucheon Choice, which features the latest trends in fantastic cinema, or Forbidden Zone, which includes such suggestive films as the carnivorous "Meat Grinder" (Thailand, 2009).
Meanwhile, families can enjoy films in Off the Fantastic, which shows quality films from around the world that aren't bloody, or Ani Fanta, which provides a rare chance to see among others the classic animation "Detective Conan: The Raven Chaser" (Japan, 2009) on the big screen.
Leading Genre Festival
PiFan has now grown to surpass, in terms of size, many of its European counterparts such as Portugal's Fantasporto, which Han visited last year as a jury member. It is now the second largest event of its kind after the Sitges in Spain. The scale of the event is reflected in the number of premieres _ this year's edition includes 38 world premieres (movies being screened for the first time) and 26 international premieres (movies debuting outside of their home country).
In the past, PiFan looked to events such as the Brussels as role models, but now benchmarks larger ones like the Toronto International Film Festival according to Han.
"Of course, the European fantastic film festivals possess rich traditions and a long history, and there is much to learn in terms of their networking know-how. But we have grown so big that we are looking into larger models like the Toronto event, which features not only great films but also a film market and academic projects", he said.
In order to further establish PiFan's role as a major festival, a forward-thinking initiative was introduced last year, Network of Asian Fantastic Films (NAFF). NAFF, to take place concurrently with the festival from July 19 to 23, provides a platform for networking among cineastes, training ground for aspiring filmmakers and funding channels for creative projects, among others.
"As the largest genre film festival in Asia, we felt responsible to contribute to the long-term development of fantastic cinema", said the festival director. In addition to building the software, PiFan is planning hardware improvements, such as building more hotels and a bigger hall for the opening and closing events to cater to the increasing number of visitors.
This year, PiFan offers festivalgoers a free shuttle bus service that runs after-hours following late-night screenings.
Fantastic Films to Catch
"M.W". (Japan, 2009) by Hitoshi Amoto, a mainstream film inspired by a comic series about a government conspiracy, opens the 13th PiFan. On the closing night "Merantau" (2009) _ Indonesia's first ever martial arts film _ will make its world debut.
Ironically, Han said he personally does not like blood-splattering films. But working with PiFan changed his views. "I thought all the gore was just to create sensationalism. But I agree with many cineastes I met in Europe, that painful-to-watch films provide one relief: after two hours of gore, you learn to thank the bliss of everyday life", he said, smiling.
Han's personal definition of a good movie is one that surprises you. "Sometimes, a violent scene can be so intense that you have to close your eyes, but occasionally there are instances when the genius of the idea leaps over the gore and really impresses you", he said.
The festival director personally recommends films that appear in the section Fanta Masters: Vampires of Their Own, which shows vampire films by master directors such as Roman Polanski and Park Chan-wook, and the Korean film retrospective Erotiscape: 1980s Urban Erotica, which shows movies Han saw as a student.
Programmers Kwon Yong-min and Park Jin-hyung recommend the following films in each section:
Bucheon Choice: "Kaifec Murder" (Germany, 2009, international premiere) is a gothic-style mystery thriller based on a true story about a chain of gruesome murders on a farm back in 1922.
"Cold Souls" (U.S.A, 2009, Asia premiere) is a comedy noir that depicts the existential crisis of an actor, who decides to get his soul extracted at a lab.
Taiwan's first slasher movie, "Invitation Only" (2009, international premiere) is about an ordinary group of young men and women who get invited to an exclusive party. It's the best night of their lives until one of them ends up dead. The movie stars Taiwan's most popular screen beauties.
World Fantastic Cinema: Serbia's first zombie movie "Zone of the Dead" (2009, Asia premiere) features the aftermath of an ecological disaster, where Interpol zombies and undead prisoners have a final showdown.
Mobster flick "Versus" (Spain, 2008, international premiere) is representative of Spanish action films and offers the brilliance of low budget thrillers, with speedy narrative and stylish editing.
"Sexykiller" (Spain, 2008) is about a beautiful serial killer who likes to mix flirting and killing. It created a stir in Toronto and Sitges film festivals for its funny, sexy and outlandish storyline with a touch of sci-fi.
Off the Fantastic: "Yuvviraaj" (India, 2008) makes its Korean premiere. The Masala film features love, family and money troubles, as well as fantastic music by A.R. Rahman, who provided the score for "Slumdog Millionaire".
For more information about the festival, visit http://www.pifan.com (Korean and English).
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