SKorean film festival to feature NKorean comedy

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Asia's largest film festival will feature an unusual romantic comedy set in North Korea when it kicks off next month, organizers said Monday.

South Korea's Busan International Film Festival runs Oct. 4-13 and includes more than 300 movies from 75 counties. Among them is "Comrade Kim Goes Flying," co-directed by a North Korean filmmaker and two European directors.

The film is about a plucky young woman who runs off to the circus, only to find her wings clipped by the show's handsome but arrogant superstar.

Organizers said it is the first time since 2003 that the festival will present a movie directed by a North Korean. In 2003, five North Korean movies played at the festival.

"Comrade Kim Goes Flying" has been shown at the Toronto International Film Festival and will play at the Pyongyang International Film Festival later this month.

Makers of the film have been hoping to screen it in both South and North Korea. The two Koreas have remained technically at war since the Korean War ended in 1953 with a truce rather than a peace treaty.

Festival organizers said they want to invite the North Korean director and the two European filmmakers to Busan.