Kim Deok-cheol (김덕철)

New Digital Festival Announces Line-Up

Source | 2007/07/03 | Permalink |

The inaugural Cinema Digital Seoul festival (CinDi) has announced a line-up of 40 titles, kicking off with David Lynch's DV epic, The Inland Empire on July 20th. The festival, sponsored by the CJ Culture Foundation and the Arts Council Korea, runs until July 27th at the CGV Apgujeong in Seoul.

The festival, in an effort to foster and promote digital filmmaking technologies and aesthetics, will present an Asian competition section consisting of 20 feature-length fiction and documentary works, including several world premieres. Asian directors are eligible to win prizes of up to US$32 000.

Announced in competition are two Korean world premiers, the fictional "After" by director CHOI Yong-seok, and the documentary "People Crossing the River: From Tama River to Imjin River" by KIM Deok-cheol.

An additional invitation section will showcase celebrated digital works in recent years, including Abbas Kiarostami's Ten, Michael Mann's Collateral, and PARK Chan-wook's "I'm a Cyborg,...| More

Awarded Korean Productions at PIFF

Source | 2006/11/03 | Permalink |

Director Noh Kyeong-tae's "The Last Dining Table" was awarded the NETPAC award for best Korean film at the 2006 Pusan International Film Festival. The NETPAC jury of the festival's 11th edition praised the film's unique style, humane portrayal of the lower class and the acting. The Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) seeks to promote and distribute Asian cinema internationally.

The Wide Angel section of the Pusan International Film Festival presented a wide variety of documentaries, short films, animations and experimental films worldwide. The Sunje award is to assist directors from Wide Angel with his/her future project. This year's USD 20,000,- prize for short films were awarded to directors LEE Jin-woo for The Wind Stirs and YOON Seong-ho for Portfolio. The Wind Stirs thanked its award to the characterization and Portfolio for its experimental elements. There is a Special Mention for CHOI Young-jun's Merry Christmas because of the potential shown.

The Woonpa Fun...| More

Programmers' Choice at Pusan Film Festival

Source | 2006/09/20 | Permalink |

This year's Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) shows a total of 245 movies from 63 different countries, with 64 movies being shown for the first time at the festival. For those who will have difficult time deciding what to see, here are some movies that the festival's four programmers say you shouldn't miss.


Crossing the Line (2006), U.K.

Directed by Daniel Gordon, the documentary tells the story of Comrade Joe, an American soldier who defected to North Korea in 1962. It is the third documentary related to North Korea by the British director, who was the first foreigner to shoot a documentary in Pyongyang. His previous two documentaries "The Game of Their Lives" (2002) and "A State of Mind" (2004) are acclaimed for their portrayal of ordinary people in North Korea, apart from any political stance.

The White Silk Dress (2006), Vietnam

Directed by Huynh Luu, the film is about a poor family in Vietnam in the 1960s. Set against a backdrop of deep-rooted traditional cult...| More