MUMBAI: The Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) opened Thursday. Welcoming the press guests with its opening film, South Korean-produced Good Morning, President, the festival began its nine-day run.
In the evening, a grand opening ceremony was held at an open theatrethat was attended by famous celebrities, including Josh Hartnett, and Han-ryu, or the Korean wave, stars like Jang Dong-gun and Lee Byung-hun.
Famous celebrities from China such as Fruit Chen and Terri Kwan, also appeared in the ceremony‘s photo zone, receiving a warm welcome from thousands of South Korean movie-lovers.
Jia Zhangke, Cui Jian, and Li Bingbing are also scheduled to visit Busan during the festival, with the Li-starred movie to be presented as the closing film.
This year‘s PIFF, marking its 14th event, is screening a total of 355 films from 70 countries, breaking its last record it set last year, 315 movies from 60 nations.
Among the participant films, 98 chose to world-premier, or showcase for the first time in the world, at the PIFF, which is also a record-high number.
