Iranian title The Day I Became A Woman, directed by Marziyeh Meshkini of Iran's Makhmalbaf family, won the jury prize in the Pusan film festival's New Currents section, dedicated to Asian film-makers' first or second features.

The award includes distribution of the winning film in Korea or $10,000 to the director if this cannot be arranged. This year the section included 11 titles.

The Italian-Iranian co-production, about women's difficulties in Islamic society, was also included in the Pusan festival's tribute to the Makhmalbaf family. Meshkini's husband Mohsen Makhmalbaf, their two daughters Samira and Hana, and their son Maysam are all film-makers. All had features or shorts screening at the festival.

The PSB Award, sponsored by the Pusan Broadcasting Cultural Foundation and determined by the audience response to the New Currents films, was presented to Korean title Die Bad, written and directed by Ryoo Seung-Wan.

The FIPRESCI judges chose Japanese director Isao Yukisada's Sunflower as its winning film, but made special mention of Korean director-writer Im Sang-Soo's Tears. They were chosen from a field of 19 Asian films.

The NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) Award for the best Korean feature went to veteran director Im Kwon-Taek's Chunhyang, the first Korean film ever to be chosen in official selection at Cannes.

The Pusan festival screened 207 films from 55 countries in 334 screenings. It was well patronised by young people and over 160,000 tickets were purchased. More than 400 international guests and 80 international media attended, and over half the films were presented by their film-makers.