North Korea has postponed the annual Pyongyang International Film Festival (PIFF) by one month, NK News learned from organizers Wednesday, in an unusual move that comes as the country continues to take tough steps to limit a potential spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) within its territory.

The PIFF, run in collaboration between the Koryo Tours tour company and local film industry partners, typically takes place in late September, and sees both foreign and domestic movies aired over the course of a week.

But the opening of this year’s event will now reportedly be delayed until the following month, Marcus McFarland, a tour manager at Koryo Tours, told NK News.

“We can confirm that the 2020 Pyongyang International Film Festival will be held from October 16-23 instead of in September as per normal,” he said.

“We haven’t been advised of any reasons for this, but in our role as the film festival’s international coordinator film submissions are unaffected.”

The news comes just weeks after news that North Korea had called off the annual Pyongyang marathon, originally set to take place on April 12, due to the country’s continued ban on international tourism into the country.

North Korea continues to claim that it has not detected any cases of the virus in its territory, and has in recent days appeared increasingly confident that the threat from COVID-19 is under control.

State media reported this week that the country has now released a total of 3650 people from “medical observation” and isolation, with 1020 patients in Kangwon Province and 2630 in Jagang Province now free.

The DPRK also on Monday gave the go-ahead to the first flight out of the country in over a month, permitting some 80 foreigners — including many foreign diplomats and aid workers — to leave following weeks under effective house arrest.

Despite this, state media has also hinted at challenges in enforcing its strict new restrictions, reporting this week that measures risk “huge economic loss” and complaining that some citizens are defying state orders.

It remains unclear, too, why DPRK organizers have chosen to postpone the festival over six months before it was set to go ahead.

The PIFF, held every two years in the North Korean capital from 1987, was previously only open to participants from “non-aligned and other developing countries.”

That rule was dropped in 2002, with DPRK state media reporting that last year’s event had attracted “40 film companies and other organizations and over 200 film makers” from “over ten countries including the DPRK, China, Russia, India, Canada and Italy.” It became an annual event in 2016.

While the festival is often a showcase for state-approved propagandistic fare, it also offers many attending North Koreans the rare opportunity to watch films from abroad — albeit those that conform with North Korea’s strict system of state censorship.

Movies from Western Europe are often featured prominently, as are films from Russia and China.

Edited by James Fretwell