Pyongyang Film Festival Set for 2012

BUSAN, South Korea -- North Korea is looking for a few good films. 

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The country officially known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will host its biennial Pyongyang International Film Festival in Sept. 2012, and is inviting the participation of foreign filmmakers, according to the festival's official foreign representative, Beijing-based Koryo Tours. 

In previous editions, the festival has screened feature films including Mr. Bean, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, South Africa's Cry, The Beloved Country and Sweden's Frostbitten.

"It will be some time before the festival becomes the Cannes of the East but we hope to get one or two film stars for the experience of a lifetime... probably one of the few places they can avoid being mobbed. The motto of the festival is independence, peace and friendship and is a great way of showing locals what is going on in the world of cinema," said Koryo Tours co-founder Nick Bonner. Bonner also co-produced the documentary The Game of Their Lives, about North Korea's 1966 World Cup soccer team, which screened at the festival.

The festival is scheduled for Sept. 20-27, 2012.