[NEWS] Johnnie To: It took years to find artistic balance

(10-09) 06:28 PDT BUSAN, South Korea (AP) --

Johnnie To says it took him years to find the right balance between art and commerce, as the Hong Kong director known for his stylish gangster thrillers reviewed his 30-plus year career at one of Asia's top film festivals.

Speaking at the 14th Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea on Friday, To traced his personal history back to his first job as a 17-year-old messenger at leading Hong Kong broadcaster TVB.

The 54-year-old filmmaker said he became disillusioned with Hong Kong's star-driven system in the early 1990s, and after making a series of commercial films, he decided to carve his own path by founding his now famed production company, Milkyway Image, in 1996 with fellow director Wai Ka-fai.

[NEWS] Korean film in focus at Pusan festival

This year’s event features four retrospectives on local cinema
October 09, 2009

Every year around this time, thousands of people head to the southern port city of Busan, where the smell of the sea riding a crisp autumn breeze mingles with the faint scent of filmstrips at the Pusan International Film Festival.

The festival, now in its 14th year, is set to screen its biggest lineup ever, with 355 films from 70 countries.

Part of the festival’s success can be attributed to the fact that it brings something new every year to cineastes who wait anxiously for the festival’s autumn opening.

“This year’s PIFF will have the largest number of films ever, and we will be graced with the most glamorous guests we have ever had,” PIFF director Kim Dong-ho said.