Lim Soon-rye (임순례)

KIM Yong-hwa directs HA Jeong-woo in sports drama

2008/06/13 | Source | Permalink |

Director KIM Yong-hwa –two years after his hit comedy "200 Pounds Beauty" – will direct Gookkadaepyo (English translation: "national representative") about a group of ski jumpers vying for the Korean national team. Next Hallyu star HA Jeong-woo has been cast in the leading role.

"Forever the Moment" showed the potential of Korean sport films earlier this yearand Koreans have a passion for their national representative athletes. Like LIM Soon-rye's "Forever the Moment", Gookkadaepyo also seems to concentrate on the emotional side of top sport and character development.

HA will play a Korean-American adoptee who returns to Korea in search of his roots. In the confusion of his visit to his unfamiliar birth country, he finds himself trying to make it into the Korean national ski jump team while in search of his identity.

The other main characters are competing athletes and are played by television actors KIM Dong-wuk – from the popular television series "Coffee Prince", and KIM Ji...| More

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Cinema Bridges Korea, Vietnam

2008/05/19 | Source | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

In celebration of the 16th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Vietnam, the Second Korean Film Festival took place May 8-10 in Hanoi, drawing hordes of local fans. The pop culture exchange is expected to thrive even more with a possible joint project to build a huge studio in Vietnam as well as the establishment of a major Korean multiplex movie theater's first Vietnamese branch.

The three-day film festival featured five popular Korean movies: "Forever the Moment", based on the dramatic women's handball game at the 2004 Athens Olympics; "Marathon", a tearjerker about a disabled man championing marathons; "Hwangjin-y - Movie - 2007' starring hallyu star Song Hye-kyo as a ravishing Joseon (1392-1910)-era entertainer and artist; "Over the Rainbow", a melodrama starring top actors Lee Jeong-jae and Jang Jin-yeong; and "Cube".

Some 40,000 tickets for the screenings were sold before the inauguration, according to Seoul Daily Newspape...| More

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KOFIC to promote Korean films at Cannes

2008/05/15 | Source | Permalink |

The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) will be engaged in diverse efforts to promote Korean cinema at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival.

With five titles screening in various sections of the festival including KIM Jee-woon's The Good, the Bad, the Weird (Official Selection, Out of Competition), NA Hong-jin's "The Chaser" (Midnight Screenings), omnibus film Tokyo! (Un Certain Regard) which contains a contribution by BONG Joon-ho, PARK Jae-ok's animated short "STOP" (Cinefondation), and KIM Ki-young's 1960 masterpiece "The Housemaid" (Cannes Classics), KOFIC will be doing its best to provide advance publicity for the screenings. At the same time, it will exert efforts to support sales companies in the Cannes Market who are selling Korean films.

As usual, representatives will also operate the KOFIC Pavilion (Booth #122) in the International Village. The large booth next to the beach will provide a space where festival visitors can collect promotional materials and learn more about Korea...| More

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Women's Film Fest Leaves Lasting Impression

2008/04/20 | Source | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

One of the world's largest and most influential film events for women, the 10th International Women's Film's Festival in Seoul (IWFFIS), came to a close Friday. The festival may have ended, but nine-days of enabling people to "see the world through women's eyes" left a lasting impression.

The festival celebrated its big birthday with a big party, showing 140 films from 30 countries. It attracted over 50 thousand people, including over 40 female cineastes and scholars from 14 countries. Screenings recorded an average capacity of 86 percent, with numerous sell-outs.

Special guests included esteemed directors such as Peng Xiaolian, the first Chinese filmmaker; Helena Trestikova, recipient of the 2007 Best Czech Documentary Film Award; and Barbara Hammer, who presented an intriguing documentary on women divers native to Jeju Island.

The IWFFIS, being a playground for artistic and intellectual discussion, held two seminars at Ewha Womans Universit...| More

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Jeonju Welcomes World Cineastes

2008/04/17 | Source | Permalink |

9th Jeonju International Film Fest Opens May 1-9

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Before Busan welcomes Asia's largest film event Pusan (Busan) International Film Festival (PIFF) each fall, Jeonju, the traditional arts hub of the nation, becomes a cinephile's paradise in the spring.

The 9th Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) brings 195 movies from 40 nations beginning May 1 through 9. JIFF, while large in scale like PIFF, offers a more intimate and homey environment.

While most international film festivals usually boast the number of world or international premieres, JIFF focuses on sharing high quality films, both old and new, that moviegoers may not be able to see outside of a film festival, festival programmer Jeon Su-wan said in a press conference earlier this month.

Film Feast

The opening and closing ceremonies will be held at Sori Arts Center. This year's opening film is "The Kiss" by Kunitoshi Manda. On May 1, local film buffs will be able to appreciate t...| More

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