MUMBAI: The 15th Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) that kicked off last Thursday with an outdoor screening of Chinese‘s director Zhang Yimou‘s Under the Hawthorn Tree will have the presence of an array of international film stars dazzled on the red carpet.

Yimou set the scene for the nine-day film fest, declaring that the event, "the largest and greatest festival in Asia, was one that gives filmmakers opportunities.

Organisers have an eclectic line-up of films and special events laid out for the more than 150,000 film lovers expected to attend before the festival closes on 15 October.

This year there are 13 films vying for the award from as far afield as Iraq and Vietnam. The New Currents award will be announced on 15 October.

Heading the jury is Japanese costume designer Emi Wada, 73, who won an Oscar for her work on Akira Kurosawa‘s Ran.

The festival was founded to promote Asia‘s vast independent filmmaking scene and it offers a main jury prize of 30,000 dollars - the New Currents award - to two first or second time Asian directors.