Asian cinema dazzles at South Korea festival
Asia’s top film festival drew to a close Friday after nine days
packed with screenings that left audiences enthused over the future of
the region’s movie industry. The Busan International Film Festival
(BIFF) rolled out the red carpet to a cast of A-list stars and showcased
more than 300 productions from all over the world but it has been the
local films that have left cinemagoers buzzing.
“The standard of productions we have seen here this year has been
outstanding,” said Chinese director Yonfan, in town to head the jury for
the festival’s main New Currents award.
“It is an indication that Asian cinema is very healthy and there is a
vast collection of very talented people out there making films today.”
That talent pool was reflected in the 13 films from 12 countries
which contested this year’s New Currents award, which offers two prizes
of $ 30,000 and is open to first- and second-time Asian directors.
Busan Cinema Centre |
Social commentary
While the money went to Iranian director Morteza Farshbaf’s gripping
‘Mourning’ and the languid family drama ‘Nino’ from Filipino Loy Arcenas,
the field was full of films that belied their makers’ collective
inexperience behind the camera.
The Mangesh Hadawale-directed ‘Watch Indian Circus’ picked up the
festival’s audience award after delighting packed houses with its mix of
comedy and savage social commentary as it followed the ups and downs of
an impoverished couple as they find the funds to treat their children to
a night out.
Away from the main award, Korean cinema was out in full force, with a
wildly diverse collection of productions.
They included everything from the local box office smash ‘Sunny’ a
reflection on chances missed and taken in life to the
bleak-but-brilliant animation ‘The King of Pigs’, a nasty look at
troubled modern youths that shows the genre can be worked for more than
just light entertainment.
Serious business
The 16th edition of BIFF began with the opening of the $140 million
Busan Cinema Centre, a 30,000 square metre complex that boasts a
spectacular LED-lit roof and a 4,000-seater outdoor theatre.
Festival organizers hope the facility will establish the city as a
hub for both the screening and development of Asian film.
The event opened with the heart-warming romance ‘Always’, with Korean
director Song Il-gon’s film making its world premiere. The night was
almost stolen by local starlet Oh In-hye, whose ‘barely there’ dress
left the opening night audience with mouths agape and ensured her name
was briefly the ‘most-searched’ on the Internet in South Korea.
But the festival soon got down to the serious business of screening
films, with 307 productions on show for a total audience of 196,177
people.
Besson gave an intriguing insight into the workings of the modern
film industry and declared he could only survive by “working with
Hollywood but never in Hollywood.”
Complex character
Yeoh’s measured and mesmerising performance in ‘The Lady’ had her
audience whispering the word ‘Oscars’ and the actress herself said it
was a rare opportunity to play such a complex character.
“There are not many icons in our times, let alone a woman and let
alone an Asian woman, so I am justly deeply grateful that I was given
the chance to play this role,” she said.
Several elaborate 3D productions including Japanese maverick Takeshi
Miike’s slow-burning ‘Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samauri’ showed what can be
done when you have money at your disposal.
But two Korean thrillers shot with 3D technology ‘Persimmon’ and ‘A
Fish’ were well received by critics and audiences alike, showing what
can also be done on a shoestring budget.
The festival’s other main prize, Flash Forward, is open to young
filmmakers from outside Asia and its $30,000 prize was picked up by
first-time Italian filmmaker Guido Lombardi’s ‘La Bas A Criminal
Education’.
“I think what makes this event unique is the audience involvement,”
said the director. “We had about 100 people stay for a Q&A after our
first screening and they seemed to know all about us and all about
cinema. There seems to be a real appreciation for cinema everywhere you
go.”
It was a sentiment shared by the legendary French actress Isabelle
Huppert the Cannes award-winning star of ‘The Piano Teacher’ (2001) here
to screen her family drama ‘My Little Princess.’
Huppert was left impressed both by the festival’s new home and by the
Asian films she was able to take in.
“This is a festival with a history of unearthing Asian talent and I
am attracted to working in the region because there is a vitality here,”
she said. “There is a freedom to create here I don’t think you find
anywhere else in the world.”
AFP |