S. Korean Film festival opener sells out in record time By Kim Young-gyo

SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Yonhap) -- Tickets to the opening film of South Korea's largest
annual film festival early next month sold out in a record one and half minutes
through sales on the festival's Web site, organizers said Tuesday.
The Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) said tickets for "The Gift to
Stalin" were sold out Monday, breaking the record time of two minutes and four
seconds set by "The Coast Guard," which was the opening film for the festival in
2002.
Directed by Kazakh film maker Rustem Abdrashev, "The Gift to Stalin" deals with
the grim suppression of minority ethnic groups in the Soviet era. It will be
screened at the festival on Oct. 2.
Tickets to the closing film "I Am Happy," by South Korean director Yoon
Jong-chan, sold out in seven minutes and six seconds. Based on the novel "Mr. Cho
Man-deuk" by the late Lee Cheong-jun, who left an enduring mark on South Korea's
contemporary literature and film industry, the film relates the story of wounded
souls in a psychiatric ward.
The film festival in Busan -- previously Pusan -- has been held annually since
1996. It begins this year on Oct. 2 for a nine-day run.