SEXY.....South
Korean actress Bae so-eun.
A GLITTERING line-up of
Asia's biggest stars converged on the South Korean port city of Busan from last
week for the region's premier film festival showcasing Asian cinema. Along with
Korean heartthrobs Lee Byung-hun and Jun Ji-hyun, Chinese stars Tang Wei and
Cecilia Cheung attended the 10-day Busan International Film Festival.
Chinese actress Zhang
Ziyi—currently taking legal action against a US-based Chinese online news
outlet over claims she was a prostitute who had sex with senior Chinese
officials—also attended.
Launching the 17th edition
of the festival last week was the world premiere of the Hong Kong thriller Cold
War, which stars Cecilia Cheung alongside screen veterans Aaron Kwok and Tony
Leung Ka-fai.
"It is a big moment for
us," said the movie's co-director Longman Leung, adding that he hoped Cold
War would help refocus attention on Hong Kong cinema, which has been hit by
falling production numbers and attendances in recent years. "We want to
show that what Hong Kong is going through is just a cycle. There are always ups
and downs in the market," he said.
Featuring more than 300
movies—and a much-anticipated performance on the final night this weekend from
Gangnam Style rapper Psy—organisers had hoped the event would attract more than
200,000 people.
Around 500 fans camped
outside the high-tech US$150 million Busan Cinema Centre to ensure they claimed
prime positions along the red carpet for the opening night last week.
Festival organisers had
stressed the importance of the event in terms of promoting Asia's movie
industry, in which South Korea's booming domestic market is a current bright
spot.
Media attention had focused
on the screening of North Korean romantic comedy Comrade Kim Goes Flying, with
its international production team invited to the festival in an attempt to
promote cultural exchange between the rival nations.
The two international
directors behind the production, Belgian Anja Daelemans and Briton Nicholas
Bonner, attended. North Korean co-director Kim Gwang-hun was also invited, the
first time a North Korean director had been asked to attend.
Other programme highlights
included a special sidebar devoted to Afghan movies saved from the Taliban by
the Afghanistan National Film Archive, and a Window On Asian Cinema section
featuring 49 movies from 11 countries, including 13 world premieres.
Busan's main competition—the
New Currents Award for debut or second-time Asian moviemakers—offers two prizes
of US$30,000 and this year attracted a field of 10 productions from eight
countries, including Lebanon and Iraq. The winners will be announced on the
final day of the event this weekend.
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