Thai superheroes, animation, music videos and horror in Pusan's special programs

Mercury Man, the Thai take on Spider-Man from 2006, will soar again, fighting evil alongside other "super" films in "Superheroes in Asia", one of the many special programs announced by the Pusan International Film Festival.

Directed by Bhandit Thongdee and featuring action choreographed by the Panna Rittikrai team, Mercury Man is about a firefighter who is injected with a mercury-like substance, which gives him great strength and the ability to leap off a tall bridge in a single bound. He's battling terrorists in Bangkok.

Mercury Man will screen alongside 10 other Asian hero films: Malaysia's Cicak Man, Masked Rider and Gekko Kamen from Japan, Krrish from India, Hong Gil Dong from Korea, Darna from Indonesia, Lastickman and Captain Barbell from the Philippines and Super Inframan from Hong Kong.

A revered religious figure and a famous Thai ghost will be featured in another special program, "Ani Asia!: A Leap of Asian Feature Animation", features nine animated features with a focus on Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore. From Thailand will be The Life of Buddha, a laboriously epic cel-animated feature that premiered in Thailand last December. It will be contrasted by Nak, the colorful, kid-friendly iteration of Thailand's Mae Nak ghost legend, which refashions ghost mom Nak as a superheroine, fighting the influence of evil foreign ghosts on Thai traditional society.

A Thai examination of fear is featured in the “2008 Asian Omnibus Collection”, a round-up of the recent crop of omnibus films from Asia. It will include the Korean premiere of 4bia, the four-segment horror film headed up by GMM Tai Hub's Yongyuth Thongkongtoon, with Shutter/Alone pair Banjong Pisanthanakul and Parkpoom Wongpoom and Body #19's Paween Puritpanya each contributing segments.

Wisit Sasanatieng and Pen-ek Ratanaruang are among the featured names in "Music Videos by Asian Film Directors". Wisit has two clips: one from Citizen Dog of Modern Dog's "... Before" and "Flashback Love" by Petch Osathanugrah. The rocker (and M-150 energy-drink heir) also hired Pen-ek to direct "I Still Love You So." Both of Petch's songs are from his recent album, Let's Talk About Love.

By the way, Petch is among the cast of the new French thriller, Vinyan, set in Thailand in the aftermath of the tsunami.

(Via Variety, Pusan International Film Festival website)