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Pusan International Film Festival
October 7, 2008, 11:00 AM ET
Latest reviews: Rough Cut | Members of the Funeral | Nucingen House | Miao, Miao | A Light in the Fog | Who Killed Our Children | Tokyo Girl | More festival reviews...
Oct. 8, 2008
AFM attendees want longer market
The consensus around Busan's Asian Film Market was that it was a good place for buyers and exhibitors to meet, get to know each other and lay the groundwork for deals. But the cool atmosphere at this year's confab left some calling for change and, of all things, asking for more. Full story
Pusan fest's best offered new look
With an avalanche of films and sections at this year's Pusan International Film Festival, even the most diligent viewer would feel snowed under. To give an overview of the quality of selections is difficult because it's still touching the tip of the iceberg even after watching 30-40 films. Full story
Dialogue: Yoon Jong-chan
"I Am Happy," the closing-night film of this year's Pusan International Film Festival, was director Yoon Jong-chan's first venture into HD. The film, which took six weeks to complete, gave the director a new perspective on the nature of digital filmmaking. Full story
Oct. 7, 2008
'Tokyo Girl' among late market sales
BUSAN, South Korea -- Japan's Tokyo Broadcasting System has sold "Tokyo Girl" to Hong Kong's Edko Films and Korea's Media Story, TBS said Tuesday. Full story
Putting in call for hero
Asian filmmakers are looking for a superhero -- or a few of them -- who can battle into the international marketplace and cut into Hollywood's boxoffice dominance of the genre. Full story
India is Hollywood's newest star
A recent flurry of deals between two diverse film cultures looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship, heralding not just the arrival of Hollywood studios in Bollywood but also Indian majors heading West. Full story
'Funeral' not the end for Chi
Anna Chi, director of the Pusan International Film Festival entry "Dim Sum Funeral," told The Hollywood Reporter that her next helming project will be "The Mermaid" for Taiwanese producer Hsu Li-kong. Full story
Dialogue: Park Ho-cheung
Pang Ho-cheung is the hardest-working man in the Hong Kong film industry, a published author, film critic and radio talk-show host who has added screenwriting, directing and producing to his resume. Full story
Oct. 6, 2008
Euros busy as AFM closes
For the past few days, Asian Film Market exhibitors have bemoaned the dwindling numbers of exhibitors, with some questioning their future plans for participation. However, there was a positive glow on the market's final day Monday as European distributors locked down a bevy of deals. Full story
Korean helmers have a Plan
Three Korean directors took home half of the prizes awarded Monday night by the Pusan Promotion Plan at a ceremony at the Paradise Hotel. Full story
Korean women take helm
While most women on Korean film sets have traditionally worked on costumes and makeup, signs of change are clear this year in Pusan's Korean Cinema Today selection, where six out of 20 Korean films were shot by female directors. Full story
Dialogue: Paolo Taviani
It's hard to think about Italy's Taviani brothers separately. Neither Vittorio, who is 79, nor Paolo, 76, has ever made a film without the other. Paolo visits Pusan for a retrospective of his brother's work. Full story
Oct. 5, 2008
Korean film industry seeing declines
"A crisis like a great depression," is how Korean Film Council chairman Kang Han-sub described the local industry at a news conference over the weekend. Fewer buyers attending this year's Asian Film Market, coupled with slower market sales than in previous years, seems to prove his point. Full story
AFM stuck in slow lane
Despite a late surge in activity Sunday, exhibitors and buyers are less than pleased with this year's Asian Film Market, which wraps today, blaming global economic and local sales conditions. Full story
BIFCOM ends on high note
This year's Busan International Film Commission and Industry Showcase recovered from a slow start to finish with a bustling weekend of activity that boosted the event's "credibility," organizers said. Full story
Tsui Hark accepts censor burden
Tsui Hark believes that censorship is a process every filmmaker must endure, not only in China but everywhere in the world, the famed director said Sunday during a news conference at the Pusan International Film Festival. Full story
New Zealand, Korea are 'Soul Mates'
Korea and New Zealand's co-production treaty has borne its first fruit, with Scott Reynolds' "Soul Mates" to become the initial film made under the new pact. New Zealand ambassador to Seoul Jane Coombs hosted a celebratory reception Saturday night to introduce director Reynolds ("When Strangers Appear") and his Korean lead, actress Han Chae-young ("Love Now"). Full story
Dialogue: Richard Pena
In 2004, Pena organized the New Tiger series of Korean films, which brought the cinematic spoils of the Korean Wave to the U.S. This year, the 13th Pusan International Film Festival will honor him with the Korean Cinema Award. Full story
Oct. 4, 2008
Incentives urged at seminar
"Put your money where your mouth is" in terms of incentives summed up location expert Bill Bowling's advice Saturday to a gathering of film commission representatives and government officials from across the Asia-Pacific region. Full story
Economy hits Busan showcase
The worldwide economic slowdown has taken its toll on the Busan International Film Commission and Industry Showcase, which this year has seen fewer buyers and attendees. Full story
Fox Star partners with Shah
In what is turning out to be a weekend when Hollywood is connecting with Bollywood like never before, Fox Star Studios India announced Saturday a foray into Indian cinema with Bollywood producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah via a multiple-film deal. Full story
Report: Spielberg, Reliance pact
Steven Spielberg and India’s Reliance Big Entertainment have reached an agreement worth as much as US$1.5 billion to create a new, Hollywood-based film studio, ending Dreamworks’ relationship with Paramount, Indian media outlets reported Saturday. Full story
Bollywood strike ends
A strike by over 100,000 Bollywood technicians and artistes was called off late Friday after an agreement was reached between the Federation of Western India Cine Employees and the Association of Motion Picture and TV Programme Producers. Full story
Shi seeks new generation
Veteran producer Nansun Shi said that new talent, the right attitude towards copyright and a commitment to legally-biding contracts will help bridge Chinese film industry to the world. Full story
Dialogue: Gulnara Sarsenova
The 13th Pusan International Film Festival will present producer Gulnara Sarsenova of Kazakhstan with the Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award, the first woman to receive the award in its six-year history. Full story
Euro sales agents push into Asia
ANALYSIS: The European accent will be stronger than ever in Pusan this year with sales companies from the continent present in ever-increasing numbers. In total, some 85 titles from Europe will unspool during the festival, making up a third of the total line-up. Full story
Asian animators challegne Hollywood
ANALYSIS: "Storm Rider" earned $4.4 million at the boxoffice in China this summer. Across Asia, an ambitious animation sector is usering in a new era of creativity that should make Hollywood nervous. Read reports from key territories. Full story
Oct. 3, 2008
Pusan fest opens with light and song
Usually a quiet corner of South Korea's bustling port city, the Haeundae Yachting Center came to life once again with throngs of gasping fans, a star-studded red carpet prelude, fireworks, and a little opera. Full story
Horror early buzz at Asian Film Market
"Pandemic,” the $20 million disaster film from Japan's Tokyo Broadcasting System, Inc (TBS), is one of the films that are generating buzz at the first day of the Asian Film Market. Full story
Two stories in film funds
Despite the recent credit crisis, panelists at the Asian Film Funds Forum said that the explosion of regional film funds may overload the production pipeline. Full story
Promotion plan keeps Asia focus
Now entering its 11th year alongside the Pusan International Film Festival and the Asian Film Market, the Pusan Promotion Plan seeks to help talented film directors with the financing opportunities they need. Full story
Asian cinema gets tag-team boost
The Pusan International Film Festival and the Asian Excellence Awards will collaborate to promote Asian film talent globally, the two organizations said Friday in signing a memorandum of understanding at the Asia Pacific Actors Network. Full story
New Currents jury presses on
With Iranian director Samir Makhmalbaf unable to report for New Currents jury duty at the 13th Pusan International Film Festival, the four remaining jury members will carry on as they select two films by rising directors whose works reflect recent trends in Asian cinema. Full story
CHINA: Embracing the dark side
This year, organizers appear to be seeking to celebrate a China and a Chinese film tradition of more studious deportment. In that vein, Pusan 2008 will host a special session looking at the early influence of China on modern Asian cinema. Full story
INDONESIA: Infrastructure woes frustrate film sector
By any measure the growth of indigenous production in the last three years has been exponential. But while film production is booming and moviegoers are growing in number, annual cinema admissions represent less than 5% of Indonesia's nearly 240 million people. Full story
Oct. 2, 2008
Singapore outfit, Star put on 'Cape'
On the eve of opening of the Asian Film Market, Taiwan blockbuster and Pusan International Film Festival selection "Cape No. 7" has been sold to Singapore's Festival Films. Full story
PIFF crowds part of draw for Europeans
The European Union-backed trade body European Film Promotion is jetting to the Pusan International Film Festival this year with a bigger artistic delegation than ever. Full story
Pusan fest shocked by Choi death
The apparent suicide Thursday of Korean actress Choi Jin-shil started the 13th Pusan International Film Festival off on a gloomy note. At Thursday's opening ceremony, festival director Kim Dong-ho expressed condolences from the "festival family." Full story
China filmmakers walk a fine line
When is it worth it for a Chinese filmmaker to forgo the Chinese authorities' approval process and bring a film to the international stage without the motherland saying you may go? Full story
'Bolt' strikes first in Singapore
Disney's animated feature "Bolt" will open the inaugural 3DX: 3D Film & Entertainment Technology Festival in Singapore on Nov. 19, two days before its U.S. bow. Full story
JAPAN: New generation challenges Hollywood
2008 is shaping up to be another solid year for the Japanese film industry as homemade films hold their own against Hollywood imports struggling to make their mark in the world's No. 2 movie market. Full story
SINGAPORE: Local film industry ready for its close-up
Like the country's population, the Singaporean cinema scene is small and diverse, though unlike the renowned Singaporean economy, the film industry has yet to become highly developed. There are signs of maturity and progress. Full story
Oct. 1, 2008
Rustem Abdrashev's 'Gift' opens Pusan fest
Kazakhstan will plant its flag firmly into South Korean soil tonight when Rustem Abdrashev's "The Gift to Stalin" kicks off the Pusan International Film Festival as the opening film. Full story
Tsui Hark's 'Women' withdrawn
"All About Women," Hong Kong director Tsui Hark's entry at the 13th Pusan International Film Festival, has been withdrawn. Chinese films can't be screened outside of the country before being officially approved. Full story
Asia opens doors to best of West
The hard truth is that most of the Asian-produced films that will screen at Pusan will never win U.S. exposure. And even big-budget American movies can get lost in translation when they try to conquer Asian markets. Full story
Nielsen Impact Award honoree: Kim Dong-ho
Under his shrewd stewardship, PIFF has rapidly become Asia's premier film showcase. Full story
Dialogue: Kim Dong-ho
THR's Nielsen Impact Award honoree discusses Korea's cultural evolution, the current state of the film business and the future of the Pusan International Film Festival. Full story
Dialogue: Anna Karina
Iconic French actress-writer-director-producer-composer-singer Anna Karina will bring her wide talents into play this year as head of the Pusan International Film Festival's New Currents jury. Full story
PIFF entry 'Sparrow' gets 4 APSA nominations
Window on Asian Cinema entry "The Sparrow," a crime adventure from Hong Kong director Johnnie To, led the way at the second Asia Pacific Screen Awards with four nominations Tuesday. Full story
Sept. 29, 2008
Three Dots takes 'Lala's Gun' to Pusan fest
Local film producer and distributor Three Dots said Monday that it will represent its first film from China, picking up international sales duties to "Lala's Gun" by rising director Ning Jingwu in the run-up to the Pusan International Film Festival. Full story
Sept. 26, 2008
South Korea, New Zealand to sign film treaty
South Korea and New Zealand will sign a film co-production days before South Korea's Pusan International Film Festival begins. Full story
Sept. 25, 2008
Pusan International Film Festival preview
"Way to go Korean Films!" ... While this year's official festival slogan has an endearingly upbeat charm, behind the hoopla surrounding the 13th Pusan International Film Festival, all is not well. Full story
Sept. 16, 2008
Pusan fest to have greater Euro accent
October's Pusan International Film Festival is set to have an even heavier European accent than last year. Full story
Sept. 9, 2008
Abdrashev's 'Stalin' marches into Pusan
"The Gift to Stalin," the latest effort from emerging Kazakh director Rustem Abdrashev, will kick off the 13th annual Pusan International Film Festival on Oct. 2. Full story
Aug. 26, 2008
Tan film to play in Pusan, Bangkok
Director Royston Tan’s latest film, the musical "12 Lotus" will be in competition in the Southeast Asian film category at the 2008 Bangkok International Film Festival, running Sept. 23-30, the director said. Full story
Aug. 20, 2008
PIFF to honor Sarsenova, Pena
Kazakh producer Gulnara Sarsenova is the Asian Filmmaker of the Year, and Richard Pena, program director at the Lincoln Center, is the recipient of the Korean Cinema Award.
Full story
Aug. 19, 2008
Pusan organizers announce Plan films
Organizers of the 11th annual Pusan Promotion Plan have announced 30 films from 17 countries that will be showcased in this year's project development market. Full story
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