Andy Lau (劉德華)

KOREAN FILM COUNCIL ANNOUNCES MENTORS AND SUCCESSFUL FINALISTS FOR FILMMAKERS' DEVELOPMENT LAB 2008

2008/06/03 | Source | Permalink |

June 3, 2008 (Los Angeles) - Now in its third year, the Korean Film Council's Filmmakers' Development Lab confirmed today the appointment of this year's Mentors, and also announced the five successful finalists who are this year's Fellows.

The Filmmakers' Development Lab (FDL) is an initiative of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) to pair industry professionals and emerging filmmakers from Korea and the Korean diaspora to help realize their English language projects. The Fellows are chosen from open application and project submission process.

The program begins with one-on-one mentoring at an intensive one-week script development Lab which will be held in late June in Jeju Island, Korea.

The Fellows and their projects are then brought to Independent Film Week (previously IFP Market) in New York in September, and to the Co-Production Forum at the Pusan International Film Festival and Asian Film Market in Korea in October.

Throughout, Fellows are given opportunities to netwo...| More

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Chinese culture enjoys its hallyu in Korea

2008/05/27 | Source | Permalink |

Just a decade ago the Korean cultural impact on Asia grew stronger and more influential. It soon became known as the "Korean wave", or hallyu, as it spread beyond from television to films and pop music.

Korean celebrities subsequently enjoyed newfound fame in China, Vietnam, Japan and Taiwan.

However, in recent years, the tables have slowly turned as more and Koreans are once again showing interest in Chinese culture, which flourished here during the late 1980s and 1990s.

Hong Kong film actors like Andy Lau, Chow Yun Fat and Leslie Cheung appeared on Korean commercials when Chinese film noir was in its heyday 20 years ago.

"The cultural ties between Korea and China are hard to break. They date back thousands of years", said Chung Nam-no, vice chairman of the Korea-China Cultural Association.

"Thanks to the hallyu, many young Chinese people have a positive view about Korea. Cultural exchanges in literature, arts and performance are increasing", Chung said. "There couldn't...| More

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Actor Ahn Seong-gi Gets Japanese Culture Award

2008/05/15 | Source | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Actor Ahn Seong-gi received Wednesday the Culture prize at the13th Nikkei Asia Award in Japan. Awarded by Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Japan Economic Times), one of Japan's largest media corporations, it is given to those who contribute to enhancing the lives of Asians.

The 56-year-old was recognized for his efforts to promote and protect Korean cinema. The star of "Silmido" (2003) was also recognized for supporting joint film projects among Korea, Japan and China. One such film is "Battle of Wits" (2006), a big budget epic movie starring An and Andy Lau and directed by Julian Cheung.

Launched in 1996, the Nikkei Asia Award has three prizes: Culture, Economic Development and Scientific Technology.

Ahn is a familiar screen persona through box office smashes like "May 18" (2007). He's also a winner of multiple film awards, including Best Actor for "Radio Star" (2007 Daejong Film Festival) and a special recognition for 50 Years of Acting (2006 Daejong ...| More

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Books Map Out Korean Film History

2008/04/25 | Source | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Korea is increasingly becoming an important film market ― ranking sixth and seventh in the world in terms of audience size and ticket sales, respectively, according to the Korean Film Council.

Last week, the Asia junket for the anticipated blockbuster "Iron Man" took place in Seoul ― the second big Hollywood event to be held here the one for since last summer's "Transformers".

In international film festivals, more and more Korean filmmakers and actors are stealing the limelight, notably actress Jeon Do-yeon (2007 Cannes Best Actress) and directors Kim Ki-duk (2004 Best Director awards at both Venice and Berlin), Park Chan-wook (2004 Cannes Grand Prix) and Im Kwon-taek (2002 Cannes Best Director, 2007 Dubai Lifetime Achievement Award).

Local production companies and investors are now out to play in the big league. Last year, Shim Hyung-rae's "D-War" marked the first widely released Korean film in the United States, while domestic ...| More

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[THE HIGH TIDE OF THE KOREAN WAVE(28)] Ebbing tide of Hallyu slows film industry

2008/03/27 | Source | Permalink |

In the last few years, Korean films, TV dramas and pop music have become immensely popular abroad, a phenomenon known as the Korean Wave. This is the 28th in a series of essays by a select group of scholars and journalists looking at the spread of Korean pop culture in Southeast Asian countries and beyond. - Ed.

Ahn Seong-gi seems perennially calm and collected. A gentle smile on his face, he does not raise his voice even when he talks about the turbulent developments pummeling the Korean cinema in recent months. But his concerns are genuine because, in his view, the local film industry is in deep trouble and the future outlook remains gloomier than ever.

Ahn's perspective about the current state of Korean movies and filmmakers is hard to be discounted. The list of films in which he played a key role in the 1990s alone include "Two Cops" (1993), "The Taebaek Mountains" (1994), "Festival" (1996), "The Soul Guardians" (1998) and "Nowhere to Hide" (1999).

In the 2000s, he starred...| More

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