Asian Films Flourish at Cannes

According to the Associated Press, 6 of the 20 films premiering at this year's Cannes film festival have either been produced in Asia or filmed by Asian directors--3 percent more than in previous Cannes festivals.

Among the selections: Palm d'Or contender Spring Fever, Thirst, a vampire morality tale by South Korea's Park Chan-wook, and revenge thriller, Vengeance by Hong Kong's Johnnie To.

According to festival director Thierry Fremaux, the lineup is indicative of the changing face of world cinema.

"Thirty or forty years ago the Asian presence was not so important," Fremaux said. "Little by little, step by step, we have opened the door to Asia--not only Japan, but China, Thailand, Hong Kong, the Phillippines."

Many observers credit the success of Japan's "Ringu" series--known to Americans as The Ring and The Ring 2--as opening up prospects for Asian directors in international cinema, and encouraging Asian filmmakers to seek an international audience.

While the filmmakers are breaking ground demographically, they are also shaping it aesthetically as well. Spring Fever--directed by Chinese filmmaker Lou Ye--features graphic depictions of gay sex, previously considered taboo for Chinese film.

The movie, which was filmed surreptitiously with a handheld camera to avoid the scrutiny of Chinese censors, has been generating plenty of buzz at the festival.

Ye is under a five year filmmaking ban following his decision to showcase his previous film, a movie about the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, at the 2006 Cannes festival without the Chinese government's permission.

The glut of Asian films at Cannes is encouraging distributors of the movies, who expect brisk sales following the titles' debuts at the festival.

"I think it's opening up," said Rattikorn Prichavongwaikul of Thai film company Bright Beyond, which is shopping titles including the Thai-Taiwanese horror film, The Fatality. "I'm in this business for 10 years, and we used to come to buy. Now we have a stand to promote our own films. Now when we make films we're not just thinking of the domestic market. We're thinking internationally as well. We've been here three or four years and it's picking up every year."

Thirst director Park could not agree more. "The world is discovering that the Asian film community produces good films, and their reaction has been positive," Park said.