MANILA, Philippines ? The Philippines is the country of honor at the 14th Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea this October.

This is because of its ?very aggressive? independent movie industry, and the government policies created to help new directors, festival director Kim Ji-seok told the Philippine Daily Inquirer during his Manila visit recently.

The Pusan fest, which runs from October 8-16, is one of the top cinema events in the region. The Philippines will be featured in the section called ?Special Programs in Focus.? Kim said a retrospective of independently produced Filipino films may include works of filmmakers Raymond Red, Aureaus Solito, Lav Diaz, Raya Martin and the late National Artist for Film Manuel Conde.

?Conde was never properly introduced at the Pusan festival. Now is a good time,? said Kim. The retro lineup will be finalized next week, said Digna Santiago, Film Development Council (FDCP) executive director.

Kim said he was impressed with the recently concluded 5th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, where 10 young filmmakers were given a P500,000 grant each to create full-length features.

He also lauded FDCP?s efforts to help indie filmmakers by subsidizing their trips to international festivals, or by helping with post-production expenses.

In Korea, Kim said, the Asian Cinema Fund supported noteworthy projects, including documentaries, from script development to post-production.

He said his week-long visit here was primarily to select indie works for Pusan, where a book on the history of Philippine independent cinema will be launched on October 12.