Myung Film, the company behind Korean box office breakaway Joint Security Area, is to expand its production capacity and launch its own sales outfit in time for Cannes.

The new sales division, E Pictures, will handle international distribution of the ten or so domestic Korean films produced annually by Myung.

With its own credit line, the company will also act an independent producer and co-producer on one or two other Korean films or pictures from elsewhere in Asia. These are expected to run at one or two a year. In another bid to boost its production operations Myung is also setting up D-Nding.com, a label which will produce pictures targeted at Asia's 'N-generation' of tech-literate youth. International sales on these are also likely to flow via E-Pictures.

The outfit will have headquarters in Seoul and Los Angeles and be headed by former Korean Film Commission consultant Paul Yi and Myung president Lee Eun. "This has been in the works for some time and we've spent the last year gathering the know-how," said Yi.

Myung, which claims to have the best production methodology in Asia, has been responsible for a string of films including Happy End, The Isle and JSA, which made an impression on the international and local scenes. In the past it has used various different sales agents including Ilshin and most recently CJ Entertainment. "We will be holding some private screenings of Waikiki Brothers at Cannes," said Yi, "and we may even pick-up some other pictures we like."