Mumbai: "Zubaan", a coming-of-age movie about a punjabi boy, starring "Masaan" actor Vicky Kaushal, will open the upcoming 20th Busan International Film Festival.
"Zubaan", co-produced by Guneet Monga of "The Lunchbox" fame, will be the second Indian film to open the prestigious festival after Bengali film "The Wrestlers", which raised the curtains on its fifth edition.
The 10-day fest will run from October 1-10. "Zubaan" also stars actress Sarah Jane Dias and Kaushan in lead roles.
Mozez Singh, who makes his directorial debut with "Zubaan", said it is an honour his movie's world premiere at the coveted festival.
"It is the ultimate honour for 'Zubaan' to have its World premiere as the opening film for the Busan International Film Festival.
"For me this film, is a passionate project and the fact that it has been selected for this momentous occasion makes me believe that we did something right, and I am eagerly looking forward to sharing what promises to be a terrific experience with my cast and producers," he said in a statement.
Mozez has also co-produced the movie along with Guneet Monga ('The Lunchbox').
The 31-year-old Dias took to Twitter to express her happiness over the news.
"#cannes2015 to #TIFF15and now to
#busaninternationalfilmfestival2015! Thank you Universe! So blessed! So humbled and so damn excited! Love to my team @zubaanthemovie Our film is going to open the festival! #epic#DreamsDoComeTrue #nevergiveup#blessings #happiness #lovemyjob#bringiton," she tweeted.
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap will be a part of the jury for the New Currents competition in the Asian films section at the festival.
The five-member jury will be headed by Taiwanese actress-director Sylvia Chang. Other three jurors include South Korean film director Kim Tae-yong, German actress Nastassja Kinski, and film critic Stephanie Zacharek.
The festival will close with "Mountain Cry" by director Larry Yang.
