South Korean romance to open top Asian film festival

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SEOUL: A romance about an ex-boxer and a telephone operator who is slowly losing her vision will open Asia's top film festival in the South Korean city of Busan next month, organisers said on Thursday.

The 16th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), formerly known as the Pusan International Film Festival, will take place from October 6 to 14 with 307 films from 70 countries showing.

The opening film will be "Always", directed by South Korea's Cannes Jury Prize winner Song Il-Gon. Starring heartthrob So Ji-Sub, the film heralds Song's transformation "from auteur to populist", according to organisers.

The closing film will be "Chronicle of My Mother" by Japan's Masato Harada.

Based on a work by Japanese writer Yasushi Inoue, the film is about a mother's unconditional love for her son and stars some of Japan's finest actors including Yakusho Koji and Aoi Miyazaki.

Awards up for grabs in Busan include the Flash Forward Award for up-and-coming young non-Asian directors.

The Mecenat Award is granted to the best documentary picture from Asia.

The showpiece event will take place at a new seaside structure and nearby four theatres.

Busan Cinema Centre, which cost 167.8 billion won ($157 million) and took three years to construct, boasts an overhanging roof which streches out 163 meters (538 feet) and claims to be the world's longest.

"It is a piece of art," Busan City Mayor Hur Nam-Shik said of the structure, which houses a multipurpose venue, two movie theatres and a 4,000-seat outdoor performance hall.