International
Ten films by newcomers to compete in Busan
New Delhi: Ten films are to feature in the New Currents Competition in South Korea‘s Busan International Film Festival next month.
The section in the Festival from 4 to 13 October is for first- and second-time directors. This year‘s selection comprises films by an unusual number of first-time directors.
The lineup includes two films from South Korea and two from Taiwan, and one film apiece from Thailand, Philippines, India and Japan, in addition to two titles – within the festivals‘s broad definition of Asia – from Iraq and Lebanon.
The Korean films are coming-of-age drama Fatal in which “sin, conscience and accountability take center stage”, and Your Time is Up about the “living avenging the dead”.
From Taiwan, Chang Rong-ji‘s Touch of the Light is about the relationship between a blind pianist and a female dance student. It is joined by another first feature, Hsu Chao-jen’s ensemble drama Together.
Thai scriptwriter Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit is taking 36 which “examines the power of memory to create reality” after a hard drive crash destroys a year worth of photographs.
The Philippines‘ Vincent Sandoval is presenting his second film Apparition which is about an “act of brutal violence that shatters a convent‘s cloistered tranquility”. Its selection had already been announced in domestic media.
India‘s Filmistaan features “a kidnapped Indian production grunt who bonds with his Pakistani captors over their shared love of Bollywood”. From Japan, The Town of Whales is about a high-school student‘s quest for her missing brother.
BUSAN IFF‘S NEW CURRENTS COMPETITION 2012
• 111 Girls; dirs. Nahid Ghobadi & Bijan Zmanpira [Iraq]
• 36; dir. Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit [Thailand]
• Apparition; dir. Vincent Sandoval [Philippines]
• Fatal; dir. Lee Don-ku [South Korea]
• Filmstaan; dir. Nitin Kakkar [India]
• Kayan; dir. Maryam Najafi [Canada/Lebanon]
• The Town of Whales; dir. Tsuruoka Keiko [Japan]
• Together; dir. Hsu Chao-jen [Taiwan]
• Touch of the Light; dir. Chang Rong-ji [Taiwan]
• Your Time is Up; dir. Kim Sung-hyun [South Korea]
