'Pieta' Kim Ki Duk: Film Distributors Predict Success for Venice Gold Lion Winning Film

'Pieta' by Kim Ki Duk took home the Golden Lion for the best film at the Venice Film Festival this past weekend. The South Korean director has been embraced and praised at film festivals for years however he was never truly received by his own people in South Korea. Most of his films have reported flopped attracting less than 100,000 people.

Director Kim Ki Duk is recognized for making films that contain disturbing scenes and dark story lines, which did not come across as attractive for Koreans. However, film critics believe that this time will be different.

Korea Herald reported that the publicist for the film's distributor NEW said, "We think Kim will enjoy his biggest commercial success with 'Pieta.' The number of screens is on the rise from 150 last week to nearly 200 today. The company should be able to sell more than 250,000 tickets to reach the break-even point of the low budget-film" Kim's Venice victory definitely added to the hype surrounding the movie, attracting curious movie-goers.

Kim explained that he does not make movies for money. "I am not trying to earn money with my films. I shot 'Pieta' with the equivalent of $100,000 (78,000 euros). My aim is to take the temperature of the world from time to time."

A book has been produced based on the screenplay of the film Pieta, and reportedly sold out on the first day of landing on the shelves of bookstores.

Will Pieta enjoy commercial success internationally as well?

Here is the trailer for the movie with english subtitles:

'Pieta' Kim Ki Duk Wins Golden Lion for Best Film at 69th Venice Festival

Pieta Official Trailer [English Subtitles]

'Pieta' Korean Film Director Kim Ki-Duk Acceptance Speech Song Lyrics English Translation

'Pieta' Kim Di Duk Explains Inspiration For Film, English Translation [VIdeo]