Conceived as a venue for films that push the boundaries of film form and format as well as content, the 6th edition of the Cinema Digital Seoul Film Festival (CINDI) is set to run from August 22-28, 2012. Festivities will commence with <Night Across the Street>, the final film from legendary Chilean director
Raoul RUIZ, who passed away a year ago.

In the fest’s Asian Competition 15 films will vie for four awards, three of which come with a cash prize of roughly USD $18,000. Included in the line-up are Rotterdam Tiger Award winner <Egg and Stone> from HUANG Ji (China), Eduardo ROY Jr.’s <Baby Factory> (Philippines), Rotterdam NETPAC winner <Sentimental Animal> from WU Quan (China) and <In April the Following Year, There Was a Fire> by Wichanon SOMUMJARN (Thailand). The only local competitor is <When Winter Screams>, from Samuel LEE. The Asian competition will be judged by IM Sang-soo, ZEZE Takahisa, Gulnara ABIKEYEVA and Una BECK, among others.

CINDI’s Butterfly section, which is devoted to young Korean filmmakers and will have more than USD $250,000 to provide in development and support this year, will include 11 films. LEE’s <When Winter Screams> will appear alongside festival favorites such as JANG Kun-jae’s <Sleepless Night> and OH Young-doo’s <Young Gun in the Time> as well as a number of Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) alumni, such as <Jeju Prayer> by IM Heung-soon and <A Mere Life> (AKA <Ankor Wat>) by PARK Sang-hun.

The inaugural edition of the Bright Focus section will highlight new Korean films, both features and shorts, that are particularly innovative in their use of cinematic technologies. It will feature SHIN Suwon’s Cannes Critics’ Week winning short <Circle Line> and well as the world premiere of <The Window>, an animated short from YEUN Sang-ho, director of <The King of Pigs>. The Perspective section likewise mixes both shorts and features and boasts contributions from renowned directors such as TSUI Hark, Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL, and HONG Sangsoo.

Headlining the fest’s annual all-night screening is a restored version of HA Gil-jong’s 1969 <The Ritual of
a Soldier>. Still without sound, the film will feature live accompaniment from a gugak, or traditional Korean music, ensemble.

Check the entire program and read more about the films at CINDI’s website: http://www.cindi.or.kr/