Jeon Gye-soo (전계수)

Top directors assemble for short film fest's jury

2008/06/13 | Source | Permalink |

The Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival (MSFF) assigned a high profile jury consisting of Korea's leading mainstream and independent directors. PARK Jin-pyo heads a jury further comprised of: KIM Tae-yong, KIM Yong-hwa, JO Chang-ho, KIM Hyeon-seok, KIM Tae-sik, KIM Han-min, JEON Gye-soo, CHOI Dong-hoon, and NA Hong-jin.

The Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival will open its doors on June 26 at Yongsan CGV in Seoul. The festival will finish on July 2. Among the upcoming directors, the festival also screens actor YOO Ji-tae's directorial short film effort "Out of My Intention" (Nado Moreuge) in the competition section.

PARK Jin-pyo directed "You Are My Sunshine" (Neoneun Nae Woonmyeong) and "Voice of Murderer" (Geu Nom Moksori). KIM Tae-yong received acclaim for his "Family Ties" ("The Birth of a Family", Gajokui Tansaeng). KIM Yong-hwa was the man behind the box office hit "200 Pounds Beauty" (Minyeoneun Gwereoweo). CJO Chang-ho competed at several international film festivals with "Th...| More

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In Jeonju, spring brings wonderful films

2008/04/19 | Source | Permalink |

By Nigel D'Sa
Contributing Writer

The 9th Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) is nearing, and an impressive line-up of films has been announced for this year's event.

Set in its picturesque namesake city in Jeollabuk-do (province), JIFF runs May 1-9, bringing together innovative and independent films and filmmakers from around the world.

This year's program boasts a record total of 169 films with opening night going to Manda Kunitoshi's The Kiss in its International Premiere.

Japanese writer-turned-director Manda has already gained notice and won prizes at Cannes for his previous films, making this latest work highly anticipated.

JIFF's curtain-closer will be the Korean omnibus film "If You Were Me 4", produced by the National Human Rights Commission.

Each film in the series has a human rights issue as its theme with past concerns ranging from discrimination to forced surgery and bringing together a group of talented directors.

This year's project fe...| More

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Korean Films Premiering at 9th JIFF

2008/04/16 | Source | Permalink |

Ten Korean features will have their World Premiere at the Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) this spring. Now in it's 9th edition the festival will run May 1st – 9th in the attractive and historical city of Jeonju, in North Jeolla province.

Korean highlights include documentary director KIM Dong-won's latest, "63 Years On", about the 'comfort women' enslaved by the Japanese military in stations across Asia during WW2. The film provides an historical investigation along with interviews with victims still living in Korea, China, and the Philippines. KIM is best known for his 2003 film Repatriation which raised the documentary genre to commercial prominence in South Korea.

In the Korean Cinema on the Move section, presents 10 new independent features mostly by debut directors. Among the most interesting are "Synching Blue" by SEO Won-tae, a director whose shorts films have garnered praise for their visual arrangements. This HD feature is about a man who seeks comfort i...| More

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'Ghost Theater' spotlights the return of the musical film

2006/07/17 | Source | Permalink |

It's kitsch. It's fun. It's a musical fantasy about spirits haunting an abandoned theater.
Indeed, the film "The Ghost Theater", which was the opening film at this year's Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival, is a delightful take on art, music and theater.
Viewers who go to their seats expecting something on par with "Chicago" or "Moulin Rouge", however, are going to be in for a shock. The style and content of "The Ghost Theater" is so original, so deliciously eccentric that one could hardly see it as a typical musical film adopted from a Broadway production. A few critics in town have dubbed the film a Korean version of "Delicatessen", a French film by Jean-Pierre Jeunet about a cannibal butcher.
Jeon Gye-soo's "The Ghost Theater" is more than original: It's a step forward for Korean musical films.
"The film intentionally plays to the genre of 'midnight movies', the kind of cult films from the 1970s, rather than looking like a classic MGM musical", said Han Sang-jun, the c...| More

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Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival Kicks off

2006/07/14 | Source | Permalink |

The Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival kicked off in Korea on July13 (Thursday), featuring genres of horror and fantasy. The movie festival will continue until July 22.

The ten-day event in the city of Buchon, on the southwest outskirts of Seoul, will be showcasing 251 movies from 25 countries. To mark its 10th anniversary, the film festival of this year will feature a variety of mainstream movies along with independent films for the viewing pleasure of a wider audience.

The opening film was "The Ghost Theater" directed by a talented young Korean, Jeon Gye-soo, who combined a surreal story with outstanding musical performances.

The story is about a girl who finds a job in a drab theater while searching for her grandmother who went missing while going to the movie theatres. The gender-bending film begins similarly to Jim Sharman's "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". However, the plot line later develops into assessing the changing culture of theaters.

For film aficion...| More

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