(CJ Entertainment)

"The Battleship Island" has been invited to a competition category of this year's Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia in Spain, the movie's local distributor said Monday.

Sitges, one of the world's largest genre film festivals, is set to run from Oct. 5-15 in the city located 35 kilometers southwest of Barcelona.

The Korean historical action flick will be shown in the Orbita section for introducing most notable films of the year and honoring a title chosen by the jury composed of audiences, the CJ Entertainment said.

It would be the sixth feature by South Korean director Ryoo Seung-wan to get screening in the festival after "Arahan" (2004), "The City Of Violence" (2006), "The Unjust" (2010), "Mad Sad Bad"(2014) and "Veteran" (2015).

Among them, "Veteran," "Mad Sad Bad" and "The Unjust" won awards for the best feature film in Asian film categories. Ryoo took part in the event as a jury member in 2011.

Written and directed by Ryoo, "The Battleship Island" depicts Koreans' desperate attempt to escape coal mines on Japan's Hashima Island, where they were forced to work during World War II, when Korea was a colony of Japan. It features Song Joong-ki, So Ji-sub, Hwang Jung-min, Kim Soo-ahn and Lee Jung-hyun. Released July 26, the movie has sold over 4.5 million tickets in South Korea. (Yonhap)