Bi-sang (2006) - 비상 (飛上) (Bi-sang)

[DVD review]Underdogs united in football film

Source | 2007/12/10 | Permalink |

A telling scene in the documentary "'Bi-sang' (Flying)" captures the character of Incheon United Football Club.
When the players are leaving for overseas training before the start of the new K-League season, they get held up in Istanbul during a layover. The team's marketing coordinator had bought cheap tickets to save money.
The exhausted players bum around on the airport benches, waiting nine hours for their next flight.
The scene summed up an enervated Incheon United FC, the underdog in the K-League, the national football league, until charismatic new Coach Chang Woe-ryong joined in 2005.
That year, the team, owned and supported by the citizens of Incheon, performed miracles.
They finished second in the K-League and reached the semifinals of the Korean FA Cup the following year.
Bi-sang started out when the original producers at Tube Pictures hired director Im Yoo-cheol to shoot a film about FC Seoul, the powerhouse of the K-League.
But a few days into filming, Lim deci...| More

Korean Film Showcase to be Held in Japan

Source | 2007/11/29 | Permalink |

The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) is to hold a showcase event in Tokyo, Japan from December 8 - 14, to introduce 9 Korean films to Japanese viewers.

The event is a result of KOFIC's continuous efforts to expand the market base for Korean films in Japan by presenting Korean films of both quality and commercial value. Furthermore, it is important to note that Korean films exported to Japan will receive support with their theatrical release.

During this week-long event at Cinequanon of Tokyo, Japanese viewers will be able to see 9 Korean films across a varied spectrum such as Beyond the Years, the monumental 100th feature from director IM Kwon-taek, and "200 Pounds Beauty" which was a big success in Korea, as well as "Our School", a record breaking independent documentary.

The films to be shown during the Korean Film Showcase in Japan are as follows;

"200 Pounds Beauty"

"Family Ties" ("The Birth of a Family")

"Paradise Murdered" ("Paradise 1986")

"Beyond the Years"...| More

Showcase of Korean Movies in Japan

Source | 2007/11/28 | Permalink |

The Korean Film Council will hold a showcase of Korean movies in Japan to introduce Korean cinematography in the neighboring country.

Nine outstanding films will be screened in Japan Dec. 8-14 under the auspices of the Japanese company Cinequanon, which has contributed greatly to promoting the Korean Wave.

The nine movies include "200 Pounds Beauty", which is to open in Japan Dec. 15, as well as "Family Ties" ("The Birth of a Family") by director Kim Tae-yong, "Paradise Murdered" ("Paradise 1986") by Kim Han-min, "Beyond the Years" by Im Kwon-taek, "Bunt" by Park Gyoo-tae, the documentary film "Flight" ("Bi-sang") by Im Yoo-cheol, Hwang Dong-hyeok's "My Father", Lee Hae-yeong and Lee Hae-joon's "Like a Virgin" and Kim Myeong-joon's documentary film "Our School".

A forum entitled "The Power of Movies Beyond National Boundaries" will be held Dec. 9 with Cinequanon CEO Lee Bong-woo in attendance....| More

Number of Moviegoers Watching Indie Films On the Rise

Source | 2007/06/07 | Permalink |

Interest in low-budget and indie films are rising slowly but surely in Korea.
And now there's a movement to ensure that indie films don't get swamped amid the flood of commercial movies.
Son Heekyung has more.
Low-budget Korean films barely register a pulse when compared to their brethren in Hollywood or Bollywood.
But figures released by one of Korea's leading multiplex chains show that interest is rising.
In 2006, this indie theater in Seoul attracted more than 300-thousand filmgoers.
That's up 37-percent from a year before.
One screen here among a dozen is dedicated to showing productions made on a shoestring.
The theater's owner says it's in search of a new audience for independent features.

"Low-budget and independent films don't usually draw huge crowds, and that's also the case in Korea. But the state-run Korean Film Council hopes to change that by opening a small movie theater in Seoul later this year, solely dedicated to screening indie films".

Seeking to draw mo...| More

Bi-sang Breaks Documentary Record

Source | 2007/01/29 | Permalink |

Director IM Yoo-cheol's football documentary "Bi-sang" has set a new record for Korean documentaries by attracting 25,000 viewers, according to its production company Emotion Pictures and the Korean Film Council confirmed that Bisang surpassed the previous record-holder "Between" (Sa-i-eseo) by filmmaker LEE Chang-jae.

Bisang follows the Korean football team Incheon United, a team in the lower ranks of the Korean Football League. Director IM was fortunate with the developments that season in the performance of the team and emotionally. The documentary coincides with the arrival of a new coach who sets the bar as high as the championship. The team does shape up and makesit to the playoffs. There they face the one team they don't want to lose against, a former employer who got rid of the Incheon coach and some players.

"Between" documents Shamanism in Korea. Both "Between" and "Bi-sang" were released in 2006. 2006 was a relative good year for documentaries in Korea with six releas...| More