First-time director Lee Kang-sheng (
The Missing is a film about a chaotic day in which people's family members go missing. Lee was one of the clear favorites among South Korean movie fans. Lee's and Amini's films were selected for the freshness of their images, emotional depth and strong human orientation. Special mention was also given to an Iran film Osama by Sedigh Barmak.
"I'm really happy that my first film received such an honor. In the future I will make better films, whether I'm an actor or a director," Lee said after receiving the award.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE DIRECTOR
The film festival is one of the most important in Asia, and its three-day Pusan Promotion Plan (PPP) is the highlight for the region's film industry. One thousand participants, including representatives from film companies, foreign guests and international journalists gathered this year at the beach resort of Haeundae in Busan, for 700 official meetings and non-stop parties hosted by South Korean film companies that turn the harbor city into one big carnival.
For many filmmakers in Asia, the PPP is the stepping stone to fulfill their movie dreams. Fruit Chan (
For Taiwan's first-time film producer Phoebe Huang, the festival was a hectic, yet fruitful trip. She brought 25kg of leaflets, press books and posters for a film project to be directed by Taiwanese director Cheng Wen-tang (
"I'm happy to have talked to representatives from Columbia Asia and Miramax, so I've reached my goal for this trip," Huang said.
If it was not for the PPP, it would be almost impossible for a rookie producer to promote a Taiwanese project to so many film companies in Asia.
"These [the 700 meetings] do not including the informal meetings. Film producers and financiers went on to further discuss their projects at hotel lobbies, coffee shops or restaurants after their official meetings," said Taesung Jeong, deputy director of PPP.
Another Taiwanese producer Patrick Mao Huang, whose A Letter From an Unknown Woman was also chosen among the 18 PPP projects, was pleased with his trip as well. He said he'd talked to more than 30 film companies including Columbia Asia, Warner Bros and United Artists. The film, to be directed by Stanley Kwan (
In its eighth year, the festival seems to have taken another step forward to become the business center of the Asian film industry. Apart from the project market, the PPP has also set up a mini-marketplace called the Asian Film Sales Office.
Twenty-one film companies were invited to set up a booth to promote sales, including Taiwan's Government Information Office (GIO).
On display in the GIO booth were films Taipei Two One and Black Dog is Coming from Central Motion Pictures Corporation and Formula 17, a gay comedy from newly established Three Dots Entertainment.
But unlike the marketplaces of major film festivals such as Cannes or at the American Film Market, the Asian Film Sales Office takes no fees from the participating companies at each booth.
"The vision of the festival is to support Asian cinema not to make profit. We are happy and will continue to offer such a support," Jeong said.
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