The Chinese film Crazy Stone was chosen as the closing film of the upcoming 11th Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF), the organizers of the PIFF announced on Tuesday.

 

 

 

"Ning Hao's Crazy Stone received critical acclaim and made a box office hit in Hong Kong and Chinese mainland. The black comedy draws laughter and applause from audiences. It was an example for an excellent movie without famous director nor high expense," officials of the PIFF said at a news conference.

 

The opening film goes to South Korean melodrama Trace of Love, directed by Kim Dai-seung.

 

During the 9-day festival, which will run from October 12 to October 20, 245 films from 63 countries or regions will be featured in screens in Pusan, South Korea's largest port city.

 

"During the past 10 years, we have focused on making this event Asia's representative festival. Now we see a new chapter for Asian movies on the horizon and this year we are starting programs to boost regional films, like an Asian film market," Kim Dong-ho, chairman of the festival's organizing committee, said at the conference.

 

The PIFF was launched in September 1996 and has become one of most important film festivals in the world.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 13, 2006)