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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