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Festival will open with the world premiere of Zhang Lu’s Korean film A Quiet Dream.

Busan International Film Festival (Biff) on Tuesday unveiled its line-up, set to open with the world premiere of Zhang Lu’s Korean film A Quiet Dream.

Running October 6-15, the 21st Biff will screen a total of 301 films from 69 countries with 96 world premieres and 27 international premieres. The festival will close with the international premiere of Iraq-Germany-Qatar co-production The Dark Wind, directed by Hussein Hassan (Narcissus Blossom).

Festival director Kang Soo-youn said of A Quiet Dream: “It’s a film that people who like films and people who make films can’t help but like.”

The latest from Korean-Chinese director Zhang Lu (Dooman River, Grain In Ear), A Quiet Dream stars Han Ye-ri (Haemoo) as a young woman caring for her comatose father while running a bar and being wooed by three men.

Young Korean indie directors Yang Ikjune, Yoon Jong-bin...

Festival will open with the world premiere of Zhang Lu’s Korean film A Quiet Dream.

Busan International Film Festival (Biff) on Tuesday unveiled its line-up, set to open with the world premiere of Zhang Lu’s Korean film A Quiet Dream.

Running Oct 6-15, the 21st Biff will screen a total of 301 films from 69 countries with 96 world premieres and 27 international premieres. The festival will close with the international premiere of Iraq-Germany-Qatar co-production The Dark Wind, directed by Hussein Hassan (Narcissus Blossom).

Festival director Kang Soo-youn said of A Quiet Dream: “It’s a film that people who like films and people who make films can’t help but like.”

The latest from Korean-Chinese director Zhang Lu (Dooman River, Grain In Ear), A Quiet Dream stars Han Ye-ri (Haemoo) as a young woman caring for her comatose father while running a bar and being wooed by three men. Young Korean indie directors Yang Ikjune, Yoon Jong-bin...

The 20th Busan International Film Festival (Biff) is to present its Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award to Hayao Miyazaki’s Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, Studio Ghibli was founded by My Neighbor Totoro director Miyazaki and Takahata Isao, who directed recent Oscar-nominated animation The Tale Of Princess Kaguya.

Studio Ghibli has produced 21 films including Howl’s Moving Castle and Berlinale Golden Bear winner Spirited Away, which also picked up the 2003 Oscar for best animated feature film.

Biff organizers said: “Studio Ghibli has produced numerous masterpieces with an extended production period, providing a stable production system as well as training successors for the development of animations.

“The studio has also left a significant mark through activities concerning environmental protection, peace, and the future of children.”

To mark the occasion, Biff is screening My Neighbor Totoro in the Open Cinema section and Takahata’s Only Yesterday in the Wide Angle – Animation Showcase...

Exclusive: Korean sales company’s Afm slate is bolstered by titles including When A Man Loves A Woman and The Fives.

Korean sales company M-Line Distribution has announced a slew of deals led by pre-sales on romantic comedy Marriage Blue.

Directed by Hong Ji-young, the film sold to Showgate for Japan, Sun Entertainment for Hong Kong, Ram Entertainment for Indonesia, Purple Plan for Singapore and Malaysia, and Emphasis for in-flight rights.

Mostofa Sawar Farooki’s Busan closing film Television, Bangladesh’s submission to the upcoming Oscars’ foreign language race, sold to Astro for multiple territories: Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, East Timor, Philippines, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, as well as to Emphasis for in-flight rights.

Astro also picked up Chung Ji-young’s political drama National Security for the same territories. Nishigahara Jimakusha took the film for Japan.

Shochiku picked up Jin Hyung-tae’s Bitter Days for Japan and Ram...

Exclusive: Korean sales company’s Afm slate is bolstered by titles including When A Man Loves A Woman and The Fives.

Korean sales company M-Line Distribution has announced a slew of deals led by pre-sales on romantic comedy Marriage Blue. Directed by Hong Ji-young, the film sold to Showgate for Japan, Sun Entertainment for Hong Kong, Ram Entertainment for Indonesia, Purple Plan for Singapore and Malaysia, and Emphasis for in-flight rights.

Mostofa Sawar Farooki’s Busan closing film Television, Bangladesh’s submission to the upcoming Oscars’ foreign language race, sold to Astro for multiple territories: Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, East Timor, Philippines, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, as well as to Emphasis for in-flight rights.

Astro also picked up Chung Ji-young’s political drama National Security for the same territories. Nishigahara Jimakusha took the film for Japan.

Shochiku picked up Jin Hyung-tae’s Bitter Days for Japan and Ram...

Dooman River

Zhang Lu’s Dooman River (La riviere tumen), which recently won the Best International Film at the Pune International Film Festival, will open the first edition of the Yashwant International Film Festival on January 20. The festival will take place in Mumbai from January 20th to 26th 2011.

The festival will showcase competition films from the recently concluded Pune International Film Festival in the following sections: World Cinema competition, Marathi Cinema competition, Student Film competition and Short films competition done jointly by Pune and Goa International Film Festival Fest.

Babu Band Baaja which won the Best Marathi Film Award in 9th Pune International Film Festival will be the closing film of the festival.

Five films of the Greek director Michael Cacoyannis will be screened in a Retrospective while The Focus on Korea section will present six acclaimed Korean films from last 10 years. In a Special Screening, four acclaimed German Films...

Pune International Film Festival poster

The Pune International Film Festival 2011 will be held from 6 to 13 January 2011. Silent Souls / Ovsyanki directed by Aleksei Fedorchenko of Russia, a film competing in World Cinema section will be the opening film of the festival.

The Government of Maharashtra will present the “Prabhat” Best International Film award comprising of $20,000 and “Prabhat” Best International Film Director comprising of $10,000.

The other awards in the festival are: Government of Maharashtra’s – “Sant Tukaram” Best International Marathi Film (Rs 5Lac), Akhil Bhartiya Chitrapat Maha Mandal Best Marathi Film Director (Rs.25,000), Akhil Bhartiya Chitrapat Maha Mandal – Best Marathi Film Actor( Rs.25,000) and Akhil Bhartiya Chitrapat Maha Mandal – Best screenplay Rs.25,000.

Life Time Achievement Awards will also be presented for outstanding contribution to Indian cinema.

For Whistling Woods International, Student Competition, the awards are: Best Film ($ 2000), Best Director ($ 1000) and Best Screen Play (Us $ 1000). There is a special award for student cinematographers...

Zhang Lu's Dooman River MoMA and the Global Film Initiative (Gfi) present the New York leg of the touring film exhibition Global Lens, described as "a project conceived to encourage filmmaking in countries with emerging film communities." Global Lens 2011 kicks off on Jan. 13. The series runs until Jan. 28. I'm not sure you could call places such as Brazil, China, India, and Argentina as "emerging film communities" considering that all four countries have had internationally renowned film industries for decades. As for the remark that in those countries "local economic realities make such expensive and technology-driven endeavors a challenge," it implies that China, Argentina, India, and Brazil are about on the same economic level as Burkina Faso, Burundi, Bangladesh, and Haiti. Speaking of dire economic realities and the challenges to filmmaking, not one movie in the Global Lens 2011 series hails from Africa or from the poorest countries in the [...]...

Pairon Talle

Sidharth Srinivasan’s Pairon Talle (Soul of Sand) will be a part of Global Lens 2011, the eighth annual touring film exhibition organized by MoMA (Museum of Modern Arts, New York City). The exhibition, in collaboration with the Global Film Initiative (Gfi) will be held from January 13–28, 2011.

The nine films to be presented in this exhibition have been developed with grants from Gfi.

“Accomplished, entertaining, and thought-provoking, the films are also deeply rooted in the social and political realities of the countries where their talented and resourceful makers live and set their stories”, as stated in a press release.

This year’s other selections are:

Federico Veiroj’s La Vida Útil (A Useful Life) (2010), Uruguay; Sérgio Bianchi’s Os Inquilinos (The Tenants) (2009), Brazil; Diego Lerman’s La Mirada Invisible (The Invisible Eye) (2010), Argentina; Aktan Arym Kubat’s Svet-Ake (The Light Thief) (2010), Kyrgyzstan; Mohammad Rasoulof’s Kestzar Haye Sepid (The...

The 2010 Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival will celebrate its 14th year as Canada's longest-running and largest showcase of contemporary cinema by East Asian and Southeast Asian moviemakers from Canada and around the world. From November 9 to 15, 2010, the festival will present more than 50 films and videos from 12 countries, including Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Canada and the U.S.

The festival is starting with an advanced screening of Ip Man 2, but the big gala opener is Twitch favourite Martial Arts Feel Good Comedy Gallants starring a host of old school kung fu veterans, not the least of which is Bruce Leung (Recently seen as Kung Fu Hustle's villain) and the iconic Teddy Robbin (who is used here to magnificent effect (and pictured above) as the brusque and womanizing Martial Arts Master.)

The rest of the festivals offerings are outlined below from the festivals press release:

Galas...