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The
Pusan (Busan) International Film Festival (PIFF) Pavilion, located on
Haeundae Beach in Busan, is the main center offering various services
for press members and special guests. The four-story building is made
of container vans, a symbol of Pusan’s history as a main port city.
/Yonhap
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By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
Largeness seems to be the keyword for the 12th Pusan (Busan)
International Film Festival: (PIFF) As Asia's largest film festival, it
features its lengthiest lineup of 275 works offered through an expanded
program. But as domestic and international movie fanatics flock to
Korea's port city, problems continue to arise, showing that quality and
quantity are two different things.
Leaky Mess
After a rainy opening ceremony Thursday, PIFF was blessed with two days
of cloudless skies and warm breezy weather, enabling moviegoers to
stroll along Haeundae Beach and explore the fun booths offering free
gifts and event schedules in the PIFF Village.
But heavy rains poured down again Sunday evening. Monday afternoon,
people flocked to stay dry in the PIFF Pavilion, a central convenience
center offering various services for press members and guests _ but
only to find a leaky mess. The second and third floors of the
three-storied structure could not withstand the heavy rain, and a huge
crane had to intervene as more than 100 PIFF guests looked on.
Constructed last year, the Pavilion, which overlooks the beautiful
beaches, is undoubtedly a big symbol of PIFF. Hundreds of people stop
by it everyday. It's gotten larger as it has undergone further
renovation and expansion, but as rain showers had been forecast all
over the country this time of the month, PIFF organizers should have
checked conditions of the building beforehand. This is not only
embarrassing but a matter of safety. Again, quality and quantity seem
to have failed to cross paths
Vulnerable Volunteers
PIFF is a festival that functions thanks to the many helpful volunteers
who offer their services for the love of cinema This year, some 820
pink T-shirt-clad volunteers can be seen at virtually every corner of
the festival ground, from providing travel information to battling mad
crowds of fans that swarm press conference venues to get a glimpse of
stars.
Despite the high number of volunteers, who had to take part in a
training program many months before the wake of the festival, the
actual use of these helpful young men and women proves to be mediocre
at best. It seems absurd, first of all, that only two staff members are
responsible for these workers. Some are laboring for over 12 hours a
day _ well past midnight _ while others sit around listlessly, waiting
for something to do. Some booths are even devoid of any helpful hands
at all.
``It's actually no sweat at all _ it's less of a hassle than the
mandatory volunteer work we had to do around the school campus back in
high school,'' said one volunteer. Another expressed deep
disappointment in her experience, saying that she has no wish to
participate next year. ``Maybe I was expecting too much _ it is one of
the biggest film festivals in the world after all,'' she said.
Each volunteer receives 1,000 won for each hour of service and no meals
are offered. Efficiency is nowhere to be seen in handling this massive
work force.
Star but Nominal Guests
PIFF this year boasts its stellar list of guests from all over the
world, but it seems that personal attention to each one of them is
lacking. Ennio Morricone, the 79-year-old legendary Italian composer
and conductor, was one of the important guests at Thursday's opening
ceremony. But the maestro of film music and his wife were left
unattended and unescorted at Thursday's opening ceremony.
Celebrated Israeli director Etgar Keret, a winner of the 2007 Cannes d'Or, was one of the special guests of the festival.
Though Keret said he had a great time at PIFF in an interview with The
Korea Times, staff at the Israeli Embassy here expressed regret that
Keret had a rather lax schedule here, as interview organizers did not
publicize the director's presence.
Considering its size, it is difficult to pour individual attention to
each and every guest. But rather than publicizing a grand list of
celebrities, PIFF should perhaps reconsider its priorities, such as
making sure a guest makes the most of his or her time in Busan. Quality
and quantity are, again, two vastly different things.
hyowlee@koreatimes.co.kr
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