The thirteenth Pusan International Film Festival opened Thursday night in South Korea with more than a hundred top stars from South Korea and overseas in attendance.

Chinese actress Li Xiaolu poses for photos at the opening ceremony of the thirteenth Pusan International Film Festival on Thursday, October 2, 2008. [ent.sina.com.cn]

China's portal Web site, Sina, reported that 315 films from 60 countries will be shown during the festival. The opening movie was Kazakh director Rustem Abdrashev's "The Gift to Stalin."

The film festival was overshadowed by the death of South Korean actress Choi Jin-sil, who committed suicide earlier that day. The audience observed a brief moment of silence for the popular star at the end of the opening ceremony.

Chinese actresses Li Xiaolu, Wang Luodan, actor Li Chen, and Taiwan actress Kelly Lin and actor Van Fan also attended the opening ceremony.

The film festival will end on October 10 with the closing film "I Am Happy" by South Korean director Yoon Jon-chan.

The Pusan International Film Festival, which began in 1996, has been one of the most important film festivals in Asia.