(VNF) - The 21^st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) featuring 301 films from 69 countries will open in Busan, the Republic of Korea, from October 6^th – 15^th.

The films to be featured will include 96 world premieres (66 feature films and 30 short films), 27 international premiers (25 feature films and two short films) and 11 new current screenings.

The number of films invited by the festival has decreased slightly from 304 films from 75 countries in the 20^th edition.

The film “Tam Cam-Chuyen Chua Ke” (Tam Cam - The Untold Story), Kim Ji-seok, the festival’s Content Director said, will compete in the ‘A Window on Asian Cinema’ category, which offers the audience a comprehensive panorama on Asian cinema over the past year.

A scene of “Tam Cam-Chuyen Chua Ke”

In making the announcement, the Executive Director noted the quality of the film represents a significant step forward for the Vietnamese film industry in its attempts to make its footprint in the international film arena.

Recently, he added, the RoK entertainment company Kidari Ent reached a deal with Tam Cam’s distributor to acquire the film’s distribution rights, which clearly evidences the high-level quality it possesses.

‘Tam Cam - The Untold Story’, the first cinema production of Director and actress Ngo Thanh Van, is a Vietnamese fairy tale in a similar vein to Cinderella.

Three weeks after the premiere, Tam Cam took in over VND 40 billion (USD 1.79 million) at local theatres.

Previously, several local films including “Bi oi, dung so” (Bi, Don’t Be Afraid) by Phan Dang Di, “Dap canh giua khong trung” (Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere) by Nguyen Hoang Diep and “Quyen” by Nguyen Phan Quang Binh, were featured at the Festival.

The BIFF, held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festival, held from September 13^th – 21^st, 1996, was also the first international film festival in the country. It focuses on introducing new films and first-time directors, especially those from Asian countries./.

Minh Phuong