Park Kwang-jeong (박광정)

Art Film Showcase 2008 to screen in Japan

2008/03/06 | Source | Permalink |

For the second year in a row, four Korean arthouse films will be presented to audiences in Japan through the Art Film Showcase in Tokyo. The eight-week series of screenings is sponsored by KOFIC and the Image Forum arthouse theater in Tokyo.

The showcase is an effort to introduce Japanese viewers to a wider spectrum of Korean cinema by presenting high quality works that would otherwise not receive a theatrical release in Japan. Each selected film will screen for two weeks in relay fashion.

The Art Film Showcase 2008 will open on March 8 with a screening of JEON Soo-il's "With a Girl of Black Soil" (2007). The film originally premiered in the Horizons section of the 2007 Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Art Cinema CICAE Award and the Lina Mangiacapre Award. The film tells the story of a single father who loses his job in a coal mine.

On March 22, NOH Dong-seok's "Boys of Tomorrow" (2006) will open its run. The story of two young men who struggle to ...| More

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'Driving With My Wife's Lover'

2007/11/23 | Source | Permalink |

Watermelons on the highway and other absurdities of life

Kyu Hyun Kim (qhyunkim)

A nebbish-looking stamp-maker Tae-han (Park Kwang-jeong, a well-known theater actor immortalized in Korean popular culture as "Rimbaud" in "No. 3") suspects that his wife is two-timing him with a womanizing taxicab driver Joong-seok (Jeong Bo-seok, "Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors"). He hires the cabbie for a one-way trip from Seoul to Yangyang, the Eastern Seaboard resort town, where his home is located. However, Tae-han seems clueless about what to do with his nemesis: does he want a confrontation with Joong-seok at the precise moment of illicit encounter? Or does he just want revenge? Adding complications to the matter is Joong-seok's rambunctious common-law wife So-ok (Jo Eun-ji, "A Bizarre Love Triangle"), who unexpectedly arouses Tae-han's sympathy.

"Driving With My Wife's Lover" starts off as if it will be one of those light romantic comedies with some predictable (tear-jerking) twist...| More

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[HERALD INTERVIEW] Moon Seong-geun returns to Daehangno stage

2007/08/27 | Source | Permalink |

For Moon Seong-geun, an accomplished movie actor and now influential figure in the country's entertainment industry, the theater was the place where he learned the life of an actor and demonstrated his talents to the public for the first time. Although he was away from the theater, busy building his career both on the small and big screen, as well as continuing his controversial political activities in recent years, he is now making a big U-turn. The famed actor is returning to the Daehangno stage on Aug. 31 with a grotesque comedy "Byun".

Written by Hwang Ji-woo, famous playwright and incumbent president of the Korean National University of Arts, and produced by Lee Sang-wu, Moon's long- time friend and artistic director of the theater, Cha-ee-moo (meaning stage shipper), the drama depicts a dictator's obsession with love and power. The play also features a number of renowned actors such as Kang Shin-il, Park Kwang-jeong and Choi Young-min. The drama hits the stage at the Arko Art ...| More

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Kim Tae-sik wins AAIFF Emerging Director Award

2007/08/07 | Source | Permalink |

The 30th Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) closed its 10-day run July 28th with director KIM Tai-sik picking up one of the events main awards. The Emerging Director in Narrative Feature Award was given to KIM for his feature debut "Driving With My Wife's Lover". The prize honors the best narrative feature film by a first or second-time narrative feature filmmaker.

KIM's road movie has traveled many miles. After its' festival launch and world premier at the Pusan International Film Festival last year, it went on to screen at top festivals around the world including the Berlinale, Buenos Aires, Sundance and Rotterdam. KIM also won the Best Director Award at Monaco's International Emerging Talent Film Festival, last May.

KIM, also co-scripted this black-comedy, in which small-town shop owner Tae-han learns that his wife is having an affair with Joong-sik, a Seoul taxi-driver. Intending to violently confront him, Tae-han goes to Seoul and hails Joog-sik's cab,...| More

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"Driving with My Wife's Lover" Continuous Journey

2007/07/09 | Source | Permalink |

The ride for "Driving with My Wife's Lover" is prolonged and next will take them to New York and New Delhi. The long list of invitations has been complemented with selections for the 30th Asian American International Film Festival in New York and the 9th Cinepan Asian Film Festival in New Delhi.

"Driving with My Wife's Lover"'s debuting director KIM Tae-sik won the Best Director Award at Monaco's International Emerging Talent Film Festival, last May, one of the three awards the film has won. The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, and Grand Bell Awards, One of Korea's major film awards. The film set off at last year's Pusan International Film Festival. The independent film also enjoyed a modest domestic release earlier this year.

The film combines an engaging humorous story with a distinctive visual style and some unexpected twists while exploring social issues along the way. The film stars PARK Kwang-jeong, JeoNG Bo-seok and JO Eun-ji.

Yi Ch'ang-ho (KO...| More

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