Breath (2007) - 숨 (Soom)

"Beautiful" wins top prize at Fukuoka

2008/07/17 | Source | Permalink |

"Beautiful", the feature debut by director JEON Jae-hong, has won the Grand Prix at the 2008 Fukuoka Asian Film Festival.

The story of a woman who becomes the object of men's obsessions and abuse due to her beauty, the film was based on a screenplay by KIM Ki-duk. JEON worked as an assistant director on KIM's films "Time" (2006) and "Breath" (2007).

The Fukuoka Asian Film Festival, which ran from July 4-13, has a history of awarding Korean films. Notably, in 2002 KIM Ki-duk's "Bad Guy" also won the event's Grand Prix.

"Beautiful" first premiered in the Panorama section of the Berlin International Film Festival. It is distributed and sold internationally by Sponge Films.

Darcy Paquet (KOFIC)...| More

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Korean Movies to Shine at Int'l Film Fests

2008/06/30 | Source | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

South Korean movies continue to make their way around the globe to vie for prizes and reach a wider audience. Some notable trips to international film festivals include feted director Kim Ki-duk's latest work "Dream", the anticipated summer blockbuster "The Good, the Bad, the Weird", which received rave reviews at the Festival de Cannes in May, and creative animations and documentaries.

"Dream" (Bimong) by celebrated director Kim Ki-duk will contend for the Golden Shell at the 56th San Sebastian International Film Festival running Sept. 18-27, the festival announced recently (http://www.sansebastianfestival.com). It is the only Asian film in the competition pool against five other works. It is Kim's third work after "3-Iron" and "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... And Spring" to appear at the event. Kim has won the award for Best Director at Venice ("3-Iron") and Berlin ("Samaritan Girl" - "Samaria"), while "Breath" competed at Cannes.

Starring top...| More

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SONG Hye-kyo to Star in John Woo's 1949

2008/05/28 | Source | Permalink |

Taking journalists by surprise at a press conference on May 20 at the 61st Cannes Film Festival, director John Woo and popular Korean actress SONG Hye-kyo appeared together to announce that she would star as the heroine in his next big budget production, '1949'.

With them were the film's producer, Terence Chang, and SONG's co-star, Taiwanese actor Chang Chen. Chang, who will play SONG's lover in the film, starred last year in maverick director KIM Ki-duk's Cannes entry "Breath" and has a lead role in Woo's soon to be released 2-part epic Red Cliff.

Actress SONG is adored both locally and across Asia for her endearing TV roles in dramas such as "Full House" (2004) and "Autumn in my Heart" (2000). Along with numerous commercials, the actress has made several features, including 2007's period drama "Hwangjin-y - Movie - 2007" which drew director Woo's attention to her. She also starred in "My Girl and I" (2005) and has just completed her US debut in the upcoming indie-feature "...| More

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Five Korean films join Cannes fest

2008/05/15 | Source | Permalink |

The 61st Cannes Film Festival has kicked off with fanfare, spicing up the festive mood for moviegoers all around the world. The ebullient mood remains largely the same here in Korea, but one thing is palpably different: There's no chance for a Korean movie or actor grabbing an award in the competition section this year.

Last year was special for the Korean film industry. Jeon Do-yeon won the prestigious best actress award for her impassioned role in the heart-wrenching flick "Secret Sunshine". This year, however, such dramatic development is unlikely to occur because no Korean film has been invited to the competition section.

But it is too early to shift attention from Korean filmmakers toward Hollywood stars. After all, five Korean movies are to be screened in various sections at Cannes, and all of them have a potential to charm foreign filmmakers, critics and media in various ways.

At the forefront stands director Kim Ji-woon's big-budget flick "The Good, the Bad, the Weird"...| More

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Barcelona sun shines on LEE Chang-dong and JEON Soo-il

2008/05/08 | Source | Permalink |

The Barcelona Asian Film Festival's (BAFF) jury awarded "Secret Sunshine" (Miryang) the Cinematik prize. The winner of Cinematik is also secured of a release in Spain. "Secret Sunshine" is directed by LEE Chang-dong and stars JEON Do-yeon and SONG Kang-ho in a tale about a single mother's mental struggle after losing her young son.

Director JEON Soo-il is also successful at BAFF, his "With a Girl of Black Soil" won the Golden Durian, an award for emerging talents. The panel in charge of selecting the Golden Durian winner included Pusan International Film Festival director KIM Dong-ho.

Both "With a Girl of Black Soil" and "Secret Sunshine were selected" for the Official Competition section. The audience voted Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om (India) as the most popular film with KIM Ki-duk's "Breath" a close second, according to BAFF's website. BAFF celebrated this year its tenth anniversary and the festival highlighted that BAFF is Barcelona's fastest growing film festival. Barcelona h...| More

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