Festival Identity and the Popularity, PiFan Gets the Best of Both Worlds!
For the last 17 years, PiFan has tried to keep a balance between maintaining its identity and gaining in popularity. The Festival has presented world's diverse genre films and positioned itself as a major genre film festival with the support of the genre fans. Its 18th edition has beefed up with diverse cultural events to embrace the public while maintaining its identity as a unique genre film festival with its finest selection.
This year's selection has been segmented with the films for the genre fans or maniacs and with the films of more popular taste for the audience. Also, the Festival has added cultural events and exhibitions to provide the public with more hands-on experiences during the festival. The festivity events await the audience including 'PiFan Camp', a camp site to enjoy performances and the movie at the same time, 'Fantastic Mission Hunters’, a race to collect stamps by accomplishing various missions at the Grass Square, Bucheon City Hall, and PiFan Artwall, a wall-painting event to be colored and filled with imaginations.

Come and experience the essence of fantastic film festivals, PiFan in wonderland!
Showing off its color and range
As it shows in this year’s slogan, 'Yes Smile, Go PiFan!’ which encapsulates the festival's desire to march forward together with a bright smile, and the poster expressing PiFan as the place where reality and fantasy meets, PiFan steps away from last year’s emphasis on the horror genre to present a celebration of fantastic films as stated the festival’s main theme, 'Love, Fantasy, Adventure’.

PiFan, the Festival for the people of all ages and backgrounds!
Aiming to secure cultural enjoyment for the senior citizens, the PiFan has launched 'Silver Theater’ in March this year and screened various films twice a month circulating 3 major seniors welfare centers located in Bucheon City. Also, the Festival encourages active involvement of local citizens of all ages and backgrounds in the festival activities. For example, this year’s PiFan recruits more senior citizens as 'Silver PiFanian’ in volunteer work.

PiFan Fever Goes Year Round!
The Festival ramps up efforts to meet audience through its diverse programs not only during the festival but also on a year-round basis. 'PiFan Youth Film Academy' is an educational platform to foster talented youth in Bucheon City and Gyeonggi Province. 'iFan Road Show' offers year-round screenings with the finest selection to local citizens. And 'Genre Film Book Series' actively introduces important publications on genre films.

Genre Films, Boundary and Territory or Beyond
A Glimpse of Trends in Modern Genre Films through PiFan's Selection
PiFan has been considered as a film festival with an emphasis on the genres of mystery, horror, thriller and sci-fi. In modern genre films, however, different genres interweave one another and they are rolled into one movie. Even they mutate themselves and create a new type of genres. This year's Festival puts new spotlight on two things. One is to introduce cross-genre or hybrid-genre films which reflect the current trend in modern genre films. The other is to discover films from South America, Chinese-speaking countries and Southeast Asian countries. This year's Festival presents 210 films from 48 countries. While consolidating its strength in presenting genre films from North America, Europe and Japan, the PiFan wants to open up a new territory.

Strange yet Fascinating, Genre Films from America and Europe
Genre films from America and Europe show the new trend of genre films - merge and variation across genre and beyond boundaries. This tendency also can be found in the movie Open Windows, in which Spanish genre filmmaker Nacho Vigalondo and Hollywood star Elijah Wood join forces to try a different style combining mocumentary and mystery thriller. Also, 'Blood Window to Latin America' special program presents new genre films full of charms coming from Latin America, an emerging continent of genre films.

Film Industry in Asia - Rushing through the Northeast towards the Southeast!
China clearly outshines the Asian film industry this year. Chinese films are making this phenomenon more convincing as they have captured interest and attention of both audience and critics. China stirs up giant waves in film industry of northeast Asia. Japan, a long-standing front-runner in the industry, still remains strong. The beauty of the Japanese film industry lies in diversity spectrum. From theater versions for genre maniacs to indulge in to low-budgeted genre films of the young filmmakers with new visions, the PiFan has completed Japanese line-up with a variety of selection. In Korean films selection, low-budgeted genre films stand out as well. They are expected to provide penetrating insight into social issues and to serve as a springboard for a new leap of the Korean society.

The Future of Kaiju Movies, Godzilla!
Godzilla is the legend of Kaiju (monster) as well as its present and a long-time future. It is not an overstatement to say every monster character in the movie has been influenced by Godzilla both in the Orient and the Occident, regardless of its contents. Godzilla is the legend itself. It still has a strong presence in film industry and will rise back with new looks in the future. This year's PiFan arranged a special program 'The Great Kaiju, Godzilla 60 Years' which will provide a pleasurable experience to learn origin of monster movies and its history.

Crossing the Boundary between Eroticism and Perversion: Tinto Brass
Movies about eroticism and sex are commonly yet wrongly described as voyeurism or pornography. Tinto Brass has masterfully unrolled these delicate subjects by adding a touch of humor. In a bid to highlight his cinematic achievements in the film history, this year's PiFan presents a Tinto Brass special, which will be a good opportunity to let the world know that he's not just a director of 'boobs and derrieres'.

The World's Genre Film Industry Centers on the Network of Asian Fantastic Film (NAFF)
Launched in 2008, Network of Asian Fantastic Film (hereinafter NAFF) celebrates its 7th edition this year. Designed to vitalize production of genre films, this industry-oriented program has supported genre production as well as education, and established a strong network. NAFF has played an important role in invigorating world genre film industry and extended its potentials with various programs. This year's It Project presents official selection of 21 projects from 13 countries along with 6 Thai projects in the Project Spotlight section. Also Fantastic Film School gears up for Asian Filmmakers Lab which has gathered up-and-coming filmmakers across Asia and the world's leading experts of the international film industry. Last but not least, NAFForum will provide a useful platform to catch a glimpse of the future in genre film industries.

The concept of the official poster of PiFan2014 is 'The Encounter of the Reality and Imagination'. The friendly meeting of a dog and a girl appears ordinary in reality. But, in the imaginative world where all the figures are depicted as shadows, the friendly scene is transformed into a duel between a big dragon and an extraordinary girl with a sword.
Embedded in it is the story of the girl and the dog who accidently encountered on the road explore the fanta- stic adventure world together through mythical imagination. The story implies that PiFan is not a mere festival you go for the films, but the space where your reality meets imagination, and that it can be shaped after your free imagination in truly exciting and fascinating ways.
This year’s poster delivers warmer and more hopeful feeling than ever while it expresses the main theme of PiFan, 'Love, Fantasy and Adventure' and this year’s festival slogan, ‘Yes Smile, Go PiFan’.

Designer : Ichan CHEONG