The second edition of the Chungmuro International Film Festival in Seoul (CHIFFS) will bring a mixture of old and new to screens September 3rd, opening fittingly with director HIGUCHI Shinji's 2008 remake of a classic 1958 KUROSAWA Akira film, The Hidden Fortress. The curtain raiser and closing film will screen at the National Theater of Korea with the rest of the fest's 175 films screening at various venues across Chungmuro district, the traditional center of the Korean film industry.
This year adds a competition section to CHIFFS, bringing 13 contemporary features from around the world to compete for US$ 40,000 in prizes. Korean feature, Happiness by director HEO Jin-ho will participate in this section alongside Johnny TO's Mad Detective (Hong Kong) , Qunshu GAO's Old Fish (China), and ten others. Guests on the international jury include director of The Deer Hunter, Michael Cimino, and Korean director LIM Sang-soo.
Also of note is a special section celebrating the 40thannive...| More
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Organizers Open Door to Exchanging Cinematic Cultures
By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
Korea has seen a line of interesting film festivals and the home of Korean cinema, Chungmuro, is bringing yet another one next month. The 2nd Chungmuro International Film Festival in Seoul (CHIFFS) will celebrate retro to recent films from Sept. 3 to 9.
CHIFFS will show fans what Chungmuro was built for: a strong backbone for the local cinema industry, the venue of communication between the old and young and the door to exchanging cinematic cultures with others. This year, CHIFFS will offer some 170 films from more than 40 countries, categorized into 11 different sections.
The first Chungmuro festival was held under three themes ― Discover, Restoration and Creation _ and these will be used again this year, but with more depth and insight. If last year's event set up the basic structure of the event, this year will further expand these concepts. New sections have been added to intens...| More
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Chungmuro in central Seoul used to be the of the local film industry, with the landmark Daehan Cinema one of Korea's first movie theaters.
However, as film production facilities and movie studios have moved out to other areas as well as multiplexes mushrooming in Seoul, it is now more remembered as a historic of symbolic center of Korean cinema.
Efforts have been underway to counter the phenomenon and an international film festival was launched last year to restore the fame of Chungmuro as the center of Korean filmmakers. This is the annual Chungmuro International Film Festival.
Last year, the festival emphasized the reinterpretation of classical movies from Korea and elsewhere, but this year's festival, to be held Sept. 3–11, is shifting its focus to more current films, which have the potential to become classics.
The film festival will feature 170 films from 40 countries at the Daehan Cinema, ChungAng Cinema and Myeongbo Theater in Seoul. These theaters are at the center ...| More
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Acclaimed actor MOON Seong-geun will take the lead role in "Sahwa" (meaning 'Royal Massacre') a horror from Cannes winning director SONG Il-gon. MOON has been a notable figure in the Korean film industry since the 1990's, when he starred in films by top new wave directors, PARK Kwang-soo ("Black Republic"), JANG Sun-woo ("Road to the Racetrack"), and in LEE Chang-dong's debut film "Green Fish".
MOON also provided memorable performances in such films as HONG Sang-soo's "Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors" and PARK Chan-ok's "Jealousy is My Middle Name". He came late to his acting career, having first spent time as a business man in Saudi Arabia. Throughout the 90's he was deeply involved in supporting the Korean film industry and served as Vice-chairman of the Korean Film Council in 1999.
In SONG's fifth feature, a Chosun dynasty-set tale of bloody power games between rival families, MOON will play the central role of a king beset by curses and vengeful murders. Supporti...| More
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The Korean Film Council is pleased to announce the publication of two new books this month.
First, a new volume on director JANG Sun-woo has been added to the Korean Film Directors series, which provides in-depth appreciations and analysis of leading Korean filmmakers. Written by Tony RAYNS, the book contains an essay on the cinema of Jang Sun-woo titled "The Essence of Contradiction"; five interviews with the filmmaker; a collection of writings by Jang Sun-woo; a collection of "Critical Miscellany" by Korean and foreign critics; plus a biographical note and filmography.
Tony RAYNS is a well-known UK-based critic and programmer who in 2002 directed the documentary The Jang Sun-Woo Variations.
Meanwhile, KOFIC has also released the first volume in its new "Who's Who in the Korean Film Industry" series, which will provide profiles of key figures in Korean cinema. The first edition focuses on producers and investors, and provides not only filmographies, contact numbers and b...| More
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