NEW DELHI: South Korea‘s Busan International Film Festival (BIFF is to present its films in the United States in a festival titled Busan West Film Festival. The festival will take place from 8 to 10 March is in collaboration with the Chapman University‘s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts in Orange city of California.
Award-winning writer/director Kim Jee-woon and Hollywood icon Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with screenwriter and Dodge College alumnus Andy Knauer (MFA/Screenwriting‘06), will open the festival with a special presentation of their recent collaboration "The Last Stand" on 8 March at Marion Knott Studios on Chapman University‘s campus in Orange. Kim Jee-woon will be honoured with a special icon award and participate in a moderated discussion with Schwarzenegger.
The Busan West lineup will feature acclaimed films from five countries: China, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and the U.S.
New to the festival this year is a competition for short films. Twenty short films are scheduled to screen during the festival and awards will be presented at the festival‘s Closing Night reception, 10 March. The two winning short films will be programmed at the 2013 Busan International Film Festival in October.
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The official Busan West 2013 lineup is comprised of the following films:
Busan West presents a unique filmmaker showcase that brings select notable Asian films and filmmakers to the U.S. to create a new and unique platform for heightened recognition outside of Asia.
Over the course of three days, the public is invited to experience a showcase of contemporary and classic Asian films, many selected from the Busan International Film Festival by Dodge College Professor Nam Lee, an expert in Pan-Asian film. The 2013 Busan West program features a special opening night event honoring director Kim Jee-woon as the Icon Award recipient and a martial arts cinema panel (Sunday, March 10) which will include renowned martial arts writer/director Haofeng Xu (The Grandmaster, The Sword Identity).
The event marks the third venture between Chapman University‘s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts and South Korea‘s Busan International Film Festival to introduce the culture, look and feel of Asia‘s largest film festival to an American audience and celebrate the vibrant and emerging Korean and Pan-Asian cinema.
Previous editions of the festival have attracted some of Korea‘s most renowned filmmakers including celebrated writer/director Bong Joon-ho (Mother, Memories of Murder, The Host), award-winning writer/director Park Chan-wook (Thirst director‘s cut), writer/director Kim Jee-woon (The Good, the Bad, the Weird), director Lee Doo-yong (Last Witness), Oh Jeom-kyun (Viva, Love), Park Jin-sung (Evil Spirit: VIY), director Kim Dong-won ("Drifting Away") and writer/director Kim Young-nam (Don‘t Look Back). |
