Category Archives: Festivals

The Seoul sattelite city of Puchon or as it is now officially known Buchon is attempting to scale up its film festival and quit some of its high school play atmosphere. There was a sense at PIFAN (Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival) 2003 that things are just a bit more important, a bit more vital. And word has it that the local government are concerned that their money could be better spent elsewhere. But the festival itself is not in … (read more)

Meanwhile at the State Theatre…

by Russell Edwards

Part 1: Chinese films at Sydney 2003

The 2003 Sydney Film Festival was one of the most consistently enjoyable – albeit unspectacular – festivals in director Gayle Lake’s reign. However the under-representation of Asian films in her programming, and the lack of quality on display, is a sad testimony as to why Sydney needs Paul De Carvalho’s and Juanita Kwok’s Sydney Asian Pacific Film Festival, when Melbourne and Brisbane seem to be … (read more)

Episode 0: What Else I Did On My Holidays

First up, for anyone who doesn’t know, I was lucky enough to weasel my way into a private dinner with Johnnie To, director of various funky films and boss of Milkyway Image. Given the frisson I get whenever that cool logo sizzles its way across the screen, signalling the onset of another fine snippet of cinema, you can imagine how chuffed I was. And I somehow managed to be seated next … (read more)

THE INAUGURAL ADELAIDE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

28 February – 7 March 2003

Well, the festival certainly went off like a string of fireworks: tickets sold fast and early, many sessions were sold out, and audience reactions, at least at the sessions I attended, were positive. The staff of the Nova were professional and courteous as ever, and the only hiccup was a persistent series of projection problems, caused, I was informed, by the quality of the prints: several prints were … (read more)