GyeongGi-Do ::

The 13th Pucheon International Fantastic Film Festival Bizarre imagination attracts the city

A bridge for exchange of human and material resources for Asian genre movies

Pucheon International Fantastic Film Festival(Pifan) celebrates its 13th grand opening and hopes to leap even further. The festival runs from July 16th to 26th in many different part of the city, including Pucheon Citizen’s Hall, City Hall Main Auditorium, Boksagol Culture Center and CGV Pucheon. Pifan is the symbolic event that represents Pucheon, the city of change, creation and cultre. The festival had its fi rst opening in 1997 in Pucheon, which has been recognized as the mecca fi lm culture of movies, animations and games.

Pifan has been ardently supported by Korean movie maniacs for past twelve years and recently has been acknowledged also by the international fi lm community as a dynamic fi lm festival with new sentiment and energy. Pifan’s creative and progressive program last year gained many great reviews from both Korean and foreign reviewers for offering new perspectives for the genre movies. The festival also moved a step closer to a fi rm establishment of its identity. Over 200 movies will be shown during the festival this year, including special and retrospective movies of unknown genre movies from 30 countries such as France, Germany, Japan, China and Korea. Yeongmi Kim, a PR specialist for the festival mentioned that “many movies, like Restricted Area, carrying a message of new and intense beginning will be shown during the festival.” A lot of effort has been put into developing event facilities, including ‘Sopoong’ of Pucheon Express Bus Terminal, and it is expected that those facilities will bring the audiences even closer to the festival

Many exhibitions and interactive events are planned for the festival such as ‘Fantastic Concert’ and ‘3D fi lm Experience’. NAFF, Network of Asian Fantastic Films, also has prepared a lot to show this year. The organization has been working hard to promote exchanges of human and material resources for Asian genre movies and to help the advance of Asian genre movie industry.

The opening ceremony will be held on 16th, 7 p.m. in Citizen Hall’s Performance Theatre and many Korean and world celebrities are invited on the Red Carpet. The heroine of “Boys over fl ower”, the mega hit
drama series, is to attend the ceremony as a movie director. Her movie “The Cheerful Helper” will be shown during the festival. A concert, as a pre-event for the opening ceremony, will boost the festive spirit in City Hall Central Park, July 9th. Visitors can also enjoy Character Exhibition featuring heroes and heroines from mystery animations in Boksagol Culture Center. Junior Critique Contest invites the local high school students to show their talents as an aspiring movie critic and Fantastic Film School also will be in session during
the festival and participants can learn how to write movie scenarios and to analyze a SF novel.

Admission for the general movies is 5,000 won and 10,000 won for movies in the opening, closing and late-night showing. Ticket reservation begins on 23rd, on www. pifan.com.