The 13th Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) has announced that Gulnara Sarsenova from Kazakhstan will be the recipient of its Asian Filmmaker of the Year award.

Sarsenova, the first woman to win the award, is currently festival chairman of the International Eurasia Film Festival and also a producer whose credits include director Sergei Bodrov's Mongol, which was nominated for an Academy Award earlier this year; Bertrand Tavernier's In The Electric Mist, and Sergei Dvortsevoy's Cannes-awarded Tulpan.

Previous recipients of the Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award are Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Hou Hsiao-hsien, the NHK broadcasting company, Andy Lau and Edward Yang.

The festival also announced that this year's recipient of the Korean Cinema Award will be Richard Pena, programme director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York. The award recognises individuals who have made significant contributions to introducing Korean films abroad.

Pena recently organised major film series devoted to Korean cinema, including the 40-film 'The Newest Tiger: 60 Years Of South Korean Cinema' and a retrospective on the late Kim Ki-young (The Housemaid).

Previous winners include Cannes and Berlin fest directors Thierry Fremaux and Dieter Kosslick as well as Ken Terawaki, former general director of the Cultural Affairs Department of Japan.

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