Yeo In-kwang (여인광)

"Ice Bar" Wins Top Prize at Fukuoka Asian Film Festival

2007/07/11 | Source | Permalink |

The family film "Ice Bar" won the best picture award at the 21st Fukuoka Asian Film Festival that was held in Fukuoka, Japan from Jun 29 through July 8.

The film's production company MK Pictures said that its director, Yeo In-kwang, personally attended the award ceremony last Sunday to receive the top honor.

"Ice Bar" was chosen for the top prize because of its beautiful portrayal of a local city in the 1960s and 70s, and for the natural and realistic acting of its leading actress and child actor who played the roles of mother and son.

"Ice Bar" is the fifth Korean film to win the best picture award at this film festival. The other four award-winning films were "An Affair" in 1999, "Nowhere to Hide" in 2000, "Bad Guy" in 2002, and "YMCA Baseball Team" in 2003....| More

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PARK Wins Berlin's Alfred Bauer Prize

2007/02/16 | Source | Permalink |

South Korean auteur PARK Chan-wook won the Alfred Bauer Prize, one of the 8 main awards at the 2007 Berlin International Film Festival, for his imaginative comedy "I'm a Cyborg, But That's Ok". The festival, also known as the Berlinale, announced the winners at a lavish ceremony held on February 17th, the tenth day of its 11-day run. The Alfred Bauer Prize is named after the founder of the Berlinale and honors a work distinctive for its innovation in cinematic art.

The prize for Cyborg is PARK's second major award in Europe. PARK is known best to European audiences for his vengeance trilogy, the second of which, "Old Boy" (2003), won the prestigious Grand prize at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2004. The off-the-wall romantic-comedy Cyborg came as something of a surprise to fans used to his violently refined thrillers. It tells the story of a two mental patients who meet in a psychiatric hospital: a young man, played by JUNG Ji-hoon (a.k.a. pop-sensation "Rain", in ...| More

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Korean Presence Strong at 57th Berlin Film Festival

2007/02/06 | Source | Permalink |

By Paolo Bertolin
Contributing Writer

ROME _ After a year when they were excluded from the three main international competitions _ Cannes, Venice, Berlin _ Korean films are set for a dramatic comeback on the international festival circuit in 2007. While new efforts by directors Lee Chang-dong and Im Kwon-taek are already highly touted for a slot in Cannes' competition in May, the official press conference for the Berlinale, which took place on Jan. 30, nine South Korean productions and co-productions in the event's lineup.

Leading the cohort is Park Chan-wook's "I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK", which will be running for the festival's highest recognition, the Golden Bear. It will be interesting to note the response of Western critics and audiences to Park's latest, especially in the wake of the weak response it got on its home turf. A stark departure from his brand-making vengeance trilogy, Park's romantic fantasy set in a psychiatric ward was regarded as a lesser achievement by do...| More

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Cyborg and Hyazgar To Compete in Berlin

2007/02/02 | Source | Permalink |

Director PARK Chan-wook's latest feature I'm a Cyborg, but that's OK will be screened at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival in the main Competition section, vying for one of the coveted Bears, which ranks among the top international film prizes. PARK achieved worldwide recognition when his revenge-thriller Old Boy took home the Grand prize at Cannes in 2004.

Berlinale director, Dieter Kosslick, sent an official invitation for the offbeat romantic comedy, which will screen during the festival's run February 8th to 18th. Director PARK is expected to attend along with the film's main stars, IM Soo-jeong and pop-sensation "RAIN", making his big screen debut.

Cyborg is the story of a relationship between two mental patients, Young-goon, a young woman admitted to a psychiatric ward for believing she is a cyborg, and fellow inmate, Il-soon, a young man who befriends and falls in love with her.

PARK's film will compete alongside Korean-Chinese filmmaker ZHANG Lu's third fea...| More

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Korean Kid Film 'Ice Bar' Invited to Berlin Film Fest

2007/01/03 | Source | Permalink |

By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter

The Korean film "Ice Bar" directed by Yeo In-kwang has been invited to the 57th Berlin International Film Festival which will be held from Feb. 8-18 in Germany, according to MK Pictures, the local film production company.

Yeo's directorial debut film will be shown in the Generation section of the festival, dedicated to children's films. The section's competitions are known as Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus.

The section has been newly created this year by combining the "Kinderfilmfest", or the German Child Support Organization operating since 1978, and the Generation 14plus inaugurated in 2004.

The film will compete in Generation Kplus Competition, whose winners are selected by an 11-member children's jury.

Yeo's film revolves around a ten-year old boy living alone with his mother in the countryside who one day decides to look for his father living in Seoul.

Also, a Korean gay film, "No Regret" directed by Lee Song-hee-il, has ...| More

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