The 13th Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) will be presenting a record 315 films this year from 60 countries, with a total of 85 world and 48 international premieres.

The fest will open Oct 2 with the world premiere of award-winning Kazakhstani filmmaker Rustem Abdrashev's The Gift To Stalin and close Oct 10 with the world premiere of I Am Happy, directed by Korea's Yoon Jong-chan (Sorum, Blue Swallow).

I Am Happy is based on a novel by the recently deceased national author Lee Chung-joon whose novels have also been adapted by Im Kwon-taek and Lee Chang-dong before.

'We're continuing with our mandate of discovering and expanding and exploring films,' said festival director Kim Dong-ho as he outlined the programme, which this year includes films from less-tapped regions such as Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Jordan, and the up-and-coming Philippines, with a focus on premieres.

Gala Presentations will feature Wong Kar Wai's Ashes Of Time Redux and the world premieres of Zhang Yuan's Dada's Dance and Soh Soopum's Make Yourself At Home starring Song Hye-gyo (Hwang Jin Yi).

Tsui Hark's Not All Women Are Bad has currently run into censorship difficulties and so the organisers announced the world premiere of this film is unlikely to take place in Pusan.

The New Currents competition section for first and second films will showcase 14 films from nine countries with again all of them being world or international premieres (see list below).

The Korean Panorama and Vision sections together will screen 20 films with 12 world premieres including Jeon Soo-il's Himalaya, Where The Wind Dwells and Park Chan-wook protege Lee Kyung-mi's Crush And Blush.

Programmers noted there are 15 world premieres of Korean films in the Korean and New Currents sections, with five by women filmmakers.

The fest is also looking to help reinvigorate the slumping Korean film industry with an Asian Film Fund Forum at the Asian Film Market where representatives of funds and projects can get together, and a Korean Producers In Focus project to showcase young producers and their various projects so they can meet up with potential investors.

'With the slump in the local industry, we're seeing fewer local film companies' sales offices - for instance, local talent management agencies have decided not to open offices in the market - but an increase of participation from Chinese-speaking territories and non-Asian companies,' noted Jay Jeon, co-vice director of the fest.

The Windows on Asia Cinema section highlights 51 films from the past year such as the international premiere of Taiwan 's Cape No. 7 and the Philippine's Baby Angelo by Joel Ruiz.

The World Cinema section will also be seeing 21 world and international premieres out of 67 films from 37 countries including Anna Chi's Dim Sum Funeral, Franco Brogi Tavianai's Maybe God Is Ill, and Peter Greenaway's Rembrandt's J'Accuse.

The Wide Angle section will be presenting 46 world and international premieres out of 70 shorts, documentaries and animations. Nine of the films will have been awarded support from the festival's Asian Network of Documentaries Fund.

The fest's special programmes include veteran director Han Hyung-mo; Superheroes in Asia; a retrospective on the Taviani Brothers; the Romanian New Wave, and Music Videos by Asian Film Directors such as Ho Yuhang and Yamashita Nobuhiro.

PIFF's total budget this year is $8.9m with $1.5m coming from the national government and $3.2m from Busan Metropolitan City and the rest primarily from sponsors.

New Currents Competition Line-up:

100 (Philippines) Chris Martinez - international premiere

Blind Pig Who Wants To Fly (Indonesia) Edwin - world premiere

Empty Chair (Iran) Saman Estereki - world

Er Dong (China) Jin Yang - world

Jalainaur (China) Ye Zhao - world

Land of Scarecrows (Korea) Roh Gyeong-tae - world

A Light In The Fog (Iran) Panahbarkhoda Rezaee - world

Member OF the Funeral (Korea) Baek Seung-bin - world

A Moment In June (Thailand) O Nathapon - world

Naked Of Defenses (Japan) Masahide Ichii - international

Ocean Of An Old Man (India) Rajesh Shera - world

The Pot (Korea) Kim Tae Gon - world

Routine Holiday (China) Li Hongqi - world

Turmoil (Kazakhstan) Sabit Kurmanbekov, Kanymbek Kassymbekov -international

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