Gurinder Chadha's hit movie Bend It Like Beckham has been chosen as the opening film of the 6th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan), which runs from July 11-20 in South Korea.

One Korea's top film events, PiFan will feature 170 films from 38 countries under the theme "Romance, Fantasy, and Adventure." Eight features will screen in the festival's competitive Puchon Choice section, including Ring director Nakata Hideo's Dark Water, Danny and Oxide Pang's The Eye, Richard Kelly's Donnie Darko, and award-winning Spanish film Fausto 5.0.

Other sections include World Fantastic Cinema, which this year will focus on comedies and dramas; "Forbidden Zone," featuring particularly violent or sexually-explicit titles; and "Made In Korea," which includes the international premieres of action-fantasy Volcano High and romantic drama Over The Rainbow. The festival also features competitive and non-competitive sections for short films.

Featured retrospectives will highlight the work of Werner Herzog, Peter Jackson, the Kuchar brothers, and maverick Japanese filmmaker Miike Takashi.

The event will close with the world premiere of Korean horror title Phone by An Byung-ki as well as Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet, a collection of shorts from world-renowned filmmakers Aki Kaurismaki, Chen Kaige, Jim Jarmusch, Werner Herzog, Spike Lee, Victor Erice and Wim Wenders.

Under festival director Kim Hong-joon the event has grown in recent years to attract more critical praise and audience interest. In response to the large number of sold-out shows in last year's edition, PiFan has decided to hold two days of additional screenings after the closing ceremony, to accommodate fans who wish to catch more films.