French actress Anna Karina, star of Nouvelle Vague films such as Bande à Part and Alphaville, will head the New Currents jury for Asian feature films.
Other members of the jury are Italian producer Karl Baumgartner (Pola X, Monsoon Wedding), veteran Korean actress Lee Hwa-si (Ioedo, A Woman Who Chases Killer Butterfly), Iranian director Samira Makhmalbaf (The Blackboard, At Five In The Afternoon), and Indian director Santosh Sivan (The Story of Tiblu, Before The Rains).
The jury will award $30,000 each to two films.
The jury members for the inaugural PIFF Mecenat Award for the best Asian documentary in the Wide Angle indie film section are the former head of the Korean Film Council Ahn Jung-sook, the director of FIDMarseill Jean-Pierre Rehm and Zhang Xianmin, professor at the Beijing Film Academy. They will award approximately $10,000 with the prize.
The Sonje Award jury for the best Asian short film in Wide Angle (also about $10,000) comprises Korean producer Kimjho Gwangsoo, head of Cheongnyeon Film, the festival director of Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival Roger Gonin and Calida Uabumrungjit, project director of the Thai Film Foundation.
A cash award of 10,000,000 KRW (approx $86,50) is granted to each winner of PIFF Mecenat Award and Sonje Award, the best documentary and short film directors in Wide Angle section.
In addition, PIFF has announced Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien as the dean of this year's Asian Film Academy (AFA) workshop.
Co-hosted by the Korean Academy of Film Arts (KAFA), Dongseo University, and Pusan International Film Festival, the AFA has re-appointed filmmaker and KAFA head Park Ki-yong, as deputy dean for another three years.
AFA 2008 will have as instructors cinematographer Ngok Tai Wong and director Brillante Mendoza.
No comments yet