"I Saw the Devil" to compete at San Sebastian film fest

Published on 2010/08/24 | Source

Movie poster of thriller "I Saw the Devil" [Showbox]

Korean thriller "I Saw the Devil" has been invited to compete under the Official Selection category at the 58th Edition of the San Sebastian International Film Festival next month, according to official website of the fest on Tuesday.

"I Saw the Devil", helmed by famed Korean director Kim Jee-woon, will be competing against 16 other movies by internationally recognized directors for the Golden Shell and Silver Shell awards at the fest to be held at San Sebastian, Spain from September 17 to 25.

The award is approved officially by the International Federation of Film Producers Association, an organization composed with 31 members from 25 of the leading audiovisual production countries, for best cinematography and screenplay.

Critically acclaimed Korean director Bong Joon-ho previously won the Golden Shell award for his 2003 film "Memories of Murder", starring top Korean actors Song Kang-ho and Kim Sang-kyung.

While director Kim Jee-woon has attended numerous film festivals for his works such as "A Bittersweet Life" and "The Good, the Bad, the Weird", this will be the first time attending the Spanish film event.

"I Saw the Devil", starring Lee Byung-hun who plays a secret agent who plots revenge against a serial killer played by Choi Min-sik, has garnered much attention from both fans in Korea and overseas.

Since opening in local theaters on August 12, the pic has attracted over 1.2 million moviegoers which amounts to a gross of about 9.3 billion Korean won.

The films was pre-sold to France, England Taiwan and Turkey during the Cannes film market in May and has also been invited to this year's Toronto International Film Festival under the Special Presentations category, which recognizes major films from famous directors.