| Florence Korean Film Fest opens in Italy (Source) |
2010/03/18 |
The city of Florence in Italy is currently playing host to 30 Korean films. The eighth edition of the Florence Korean Film Festival takes place this year from March 12-20. The festival, supported by various local groups, KOFIC and the Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism, shows mostly European and Italian premieres of new Korean films. This year the festival is comprised of a K-Horror section, the competitive Orizzonti Coreani section, the Independent Korea section (also competitive) and a retrospective on director HEO Jin-ho.
Given the notable status of the horror genre in Korea, the festival is screening seven horror films, to be presented by famed Italian director Dario Argento. The section includes KIM Seong-ho's "Into the Mirror" (2003), LIM Pil-seong's "Antarctic Journal" (2005), PARK Ki-hyeong's "Whispering Corridors" (1998) and "Acacia" (2003). "Whispering Corridors" is particularly notable for kicking off the highly successful Yeogo goedam series of school girl horror ... |More
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| Director Bong Lauded by US Critics (Source) |
2010/03/17 |
By Cho Jae-hyon
Staff Reporter
Director Bong Joon-ho of the local top-grossing movie "Mother - 2009" is drawing acclaim from U.S. critics as the thriller opened Friday in theaters in the United States.
Jim Hoberman, a prominent American film critic with The Village Voice, praised Bong for the film's well-woven plot and suspense.
"For all its jarring sound design and herky-jerky pacing, founded on sudden incidents or shocking accidents, 'Mother - 2009' is deftly plotted, applying Hitchcockian suspense with a Hitchcockian sense of fair play", Hoberman said.
"It would hardly be surprising if Hollywood attempted a remake ― although it will be a rare studio movie with the nerve to recreate Mother's convulsive final reel, an ending that leaves its protagonist stranded in a moral netherworld, applying her acupuncture needle to the spot that 'unknots the heart'."
Indeed, Bong has said he watched Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 "Psycho" during preproduction, which examined a poiso... |More
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| HAF selects two Korean projects (Source) |
2010/03/12 |
The eighth edition of the Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) 2010 has selected two Korean projects among 25 Asian projects for its upcoming edition, March 22 – 24. Award-winning auteur LEE Yoon-ki and commercially successful director JEON Yeon-soo will present their latest projects to potential investors.
LEE's project is titled "Dear Comrade", a Korea-Japan-Vietnam co-production. It tells the story of a decades-long love between a Vietnamese man and a North Korean woman who first meet when he is sent to Pyeongyang as a student in 1971. Produced by Japan's Espirit Inc. the film is written by LEE and has a budget of US$ 3 million.
JEON's project, produced by Sidus FNH, is titled "Exit to Exist". Based on a best-selling Korean novel titled Shoot Me in the Heart, it is the tale of two young men who meet in a mental hospital – one is locked up because he is crazy, the other going crazy because he is locked up. Produced by Jupiter Film and Sidus FNH, the film has a b... |More
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| Korean Films at the Hong Kong Film Festival (Source) |
2010/03/12 |
Korea is well represented at this year's Hong Kong Film Festival by a large number of independent films.
Most of the films are competing in the 'Asian Digital Competition' underlining Korea's growing strength in the digital film arena. The films competing in the section this year are the Pusan New Currents winner, "I'm in Trouble!" directed by SO Sang-min, "Eighteen" directed by JANG Kun-jae which recently won the Dragon and Tiger award at Vancouver and the darkly transgressive "Mother is a Whore" by LEE Sang Woo.
Notably this year, North Korean and South Korean relations play a major theme with HONG Hyung-sook's controversial "The Border City 2" entered in the 'Humanitarian Awards for Documentaries' Section. The film focuses on the return to South Korea of a professor who was branded as a North Korean spy and lived in Germany for 35 years. Lastly, in the Auteur Section is "Dooman River" which recently played at Berlin. The film helmed by Korean/Chinese director ZHANG Lu i... |More
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| Korean films, stars nominated for U.S. Green Globe Awards (Source) |
2010/03/12 |
Korean movie "Thirst" and "Mother - 2009" [CJ Entertainment]
Some of the biggest names in the South Korean film industry, as well as its most noted productions, have been nominated in multiple categories at this year's Hollywood-based Green Globe Film Awards.
According to the event's official webpage, a number of Korea's top movie stars and films will compete in this year's "International Film Awards Theme: Asia" segment of the event which recognizes movies, actors and directors in the Eastern region of the globe.
Noteworthy nominees include Song Kang-ho for film "Thirst", Ha Jeong-woo for "Take Off" and Kim Myeong-min for "Closer to Heaven" in the categor... |More
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