The Global Film Initiative has picked up three films that screened at the recent Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) for North American distribution - 111 Girls, Beijing Flickers and Shyamal Uncle Turns Off The Lights.

Iraqi-Kurdish drama 111 Girls, which screened in BIFF’s New Currents competition, is produced by acclaimed filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi and directed by newcomers Bijan Zmanpira and Nahid Ghobadi.

Suman Ghosh’s Bengali-language Shyamal Uncle Turns Off The Lights [pictured] follows a senior citizen who campaigns to save electricity by getting the street lights turned off during the day time, while Zhang Yuan’s Beijing Flickers follows a group of young city dwellers who have been left behind by China’s economic miracle.

Shyamal Uncle Turns Off The Lights and 111 Girls received their world premieres at BIFF, while Beijing Flickers previously screened at Toronto.

All three film will be included in GFI’s forthcoming Global Lens 2013 film series, which will include seven other films and premiere January 2013 in New York.

“These films are a shining example of what makes Global Lens, and BIFF, so unique,” said GFI director of programmes Santhosh Daniel. “Unusual and inspired filmmaking that draws you into the landscape of imagination, and a nation - we’re proud to include them in the tenth anniversary of our series.”

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