Several established Asian directors, including Japan's Iwai Shunji, Korea's Jang Sun-Woo and China's Zhang Yuan, will present projects at the third Pusan Promotion Plan (PPP), which runs alongside this year's Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea.

A total of 22 projects from 11 countries will be attempting to raise finance at PPP. International companies that have confirmed their attendance include Miramax Films, 20th Century Fox, France's Celluloid Dreams and MK2 and Japanese broadcaster NHK.

"The selection process this year was particularly difficult because of the increase in noteworthy filmmakers - established masters and talented newcomers alike," said PPP deputy director Taesung Jeong adding that a record number of projects have been chosen because of the surge in interest.

Among new talent hoping to attract financiers and co-producers are Kim Jin-Han and Song Ilgon, both from Korea, Hong Kong's Kenneth Bi, and China's Diao Yinan, scriptwriter of Chinese hits Spicy Love Soup and The Shower.

Those who have had considerable success on home ground include Japan's Harada Masato, Korea's Park Kwang-su, Vietnam's Viet Linh Nguyen and Thailand's Nonzee Minimbutr.

Clara Law, whose latest film The Goddess Of 1967 is in competition at this year's Venice Film Festival, is also in the line-up with Hong Kong-Australia co-production The Mechanical Bird.

Thirteen of the 17 projects presented at last year's PPP secured financing as a result, and four of the nine that have been completed have already been invited to major festivals. PPP takes place October 10-12. The Pusan festival runs from October 6-14.

The full list of titles chosen are:

Drumming (Kazakhstan)
Dir: Ardak Amirkulov. Prod: Ardak Amirkulov.

Hainan Chicken Rice (Hong Kong)
Dir: Kenneth Bi. Prods: Rosa Li, Daniel Yu.

Two Guys (China)
Dir: Diao Yinan. Prod: Li Kit Ming.

The Villagers (The Philippines)
Dir: Lavrente Diaz. Prod: Roger Garcia.

Pistolero (Japan)
Dir: Harada Masato. Prod: Hidemi Satani.

All About Lily Chou-Chou (Japan)
Dir: Iwai Shunji. Prod: Iwai Shunji.

Resurrection Of The Little Match Seller (Korea)
Dir: Jang Sun-Woo. Prod: Yoo In-Taek.

Junkman (Korea)
Dir: Kim Jin-Han. Prod: Kang Sung-Kyu.

The Mechanical Bird (Hong Kong-Australia)
Dir: Clara Law. Prod: Eddie LC Fong.

The Summer Palace (China)
Dir: Lou Ye. Prod: Nai An.

Mask De 41 (Japan)
Dir: Muramoto Taishi. Prod: Sento Takenori.

There Was Once A Time When (Vietnam)
Dir: Viet Linh Nguyen. Prod: Ngoc Quang Nguyen.

A Comrade's Symphony (Thailand)
Dir: Nonzee Nimibutr. Prod: Duangkamol Limcharoen.

The Road (Kazakhstan)
Dir: Darejan Omirbaev. Prod: Elise Jalladeau.

The Trigger (Korea)
Dir: Park Kwang-Su. Prod: Yoo In-Taek.

The Sea (India)
Dir: Shaji Karun. Prod: Anasuya Shaji.

The Knife (Korea)
Dir: Song Ilgon. Prod: Myung Kaynam.

Dark Circles (Malaysia)
Dir: Tsai Ming-liang. Prod: Jimmy Huang Chih-ming.

The Son (Taiwan)
Dir: Wang Shaudi. Prod: Huang Liming.

Pusan Story (Korea)
Dir: Yu Lik-wai. Prod: Cho Sung Yeon.

Weekend Plot (China)
Dir: Zhang Ming. Prod: Zhang Ming, Huang Yunkai.

Hainan Plus (China)
Dir: Zhang Yuan. Prod: Zhang Yuan.