Yeon Mi-jeong (연미정)

Top Women Filmmakers of 2006 Awarded

Source | 2007/01/03 | Permalink |

In Korea's male dominated society, the film industry holds an interesting position as a place where a conservative 'boys on top' mentality stubbornly persists and where emerging, feminist voices have gained a stronghold. Filmmaking is no longer the boys club it was, and each December, the Festival of Women in Film, a year-end annual event, celebrates that fact, while fostering further changes.

Organized by Korean Women in Film, a network of female film professionals, the award show acknowledges outstanding films that take a feminist perspective and awards female figures for their creative efforts, particularly those who have not gained recognition from the mainstream award shows.

The awards ceremony took place Dec. 14th, with a best actress award going to veteran performer NAH Moon-hee in "Cruel Winter Blues". NAH was praised for her intense performance as an old mother tormented by her son, a hoodlum wanted by a rival gang.The documentary award was shared by LEE Hye-ran and ...| More

Women's film awards suggest that Korean cinema is changing

Source | 2006/12/25 | Permalink |

Women are beginning to take key roles in all film genres

The Korean film industry was once a sport for boys only. There was no need to talk about creating a level playing field for women, because they were not even in the game.
Things are slowly changing, and the Festival of Women in Film, an annual event organized by Korean Women in Film, has helped lead the way. A network of female film professionals, Korean Women in Film gives awards each year to films and female film professionals who take a feminist perspective.
The most recent festival, which took place on Dec. 14, introduced figures from within the industry that the mainstream award shows had failed to acknowledge.
The actor's award this year went to Nah Moon-hee, a veteran in the field who produced an outstanding performance in this year's "Cruel Winter Blues", an intense film about an old mother who is tormented by her hoodlum son. The story, which was mis-marketed as a gangster action movie, has now been repackaged and ...| More