'City of Film' status awarded to Busan, Galway and Sofia

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s award is designed to recognise a particular city’s contribution to cinema and media production.

This week’s news is particularly significant for Busan, as it is the first Asian city to be awarded the gong. South Korea’s reputation as a film-friendly destination is on the rise: it recently joined up with Hong Kong in a memorandum of understanding to enhance creative relationships.

Since the scheme launched ten years ago, nearly 70 locations have been designated Creative Cities across seven categories.

UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova said of the scheme: “The UNESCO Creative Cities Network is a tremendous tool for cooperation, it reflects our commitment to support an amazing creative and innovative potential to broaden the avenues of sustainable development.”

The next meeting of the Creative City Network is scheduled for May 2015 in Kanazawa, Japan.