The Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) has announced that the world premiere of mainland Chinese director Feng Xiaogang's Assembly will open this year's edition. The closing film will be Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone, directed by Hideaki Anno, Kazuya Tsurumaki and Masayuki.

Feng's filmography includes Chinese hit The Banquet, starring Zhang Ziyi, as well as A World Without Thieves and A Sigh.

His latest film is a war epic focusing on the human drama of a soldier who devotes his life to redeeming the honor of his comrades-in-arms declared missing in action.

Co-produced by China 's Huayi Brothers and Korea 's MK Pictures, Assembly uses the same special effects team that worked on the major Korean hit Taegukgi.

Closing film, Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone (working title) is the newly re-worked theatrical adaptation of the television animation series Neon Genesis Evangelion - a cult hit with fans since its debut in 1995. The title in 1997 was released on the big screen, breaking box office records at the time.

Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone is the first episode out of a new trilogy that re-interprets the series and has a different ending.

The film opens in Japan on Sept 1 and will make its international premiere at PIFF. Anno, Tsurumaki and Masayuki have all worked together before, with experience on the Evangelion series.

The 12th PIFF runs Oct 4-12.

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