Princess Aurora (2005) - 오로라 공주 (O-ro-ra Gong-joo)

In Jeonju, spring brings wonderful films

2008/04/19 | Source | Permalink |

By Nigel D'Sa
Contributing Writer

The 9th Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) is nearing, and an impressive line-up of films has been announced for this year's event.

Set in its picturesque namesake city in Jeollabuk-do (province), JIFF runs May 1-9, bringing together innovative and independent films and filmmakers from around the world.

This year's program boasts a record total of 169 films with opening night going to Manda Kunitoshi's The Kiss in its International Premiere.

Japanese writer-turned-director Manda has already gained notice and won prizes at Cannes for his previous films, making this latest work highly anticipated.

JIFF's curtain-closer will be the Korean omnibus film "If You Were Me 4", produced by the National Human Rights Commission.

Each film in the series has a human rights issue as its theme with past concerns ranging from discrimination to forced surgery and bringing together a group of talented directors.

This year's project fe...| More

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Korean Films Premiering at 9th JIFF

2008/04/16 | Source | Permalink |

Ten Korean features will have their World Premiere at the Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) this spring. Now in it's 9th edition the festival will run May 1st – 9th in the attractive and historical city of Jeonju, in North Jeolla province.

Korean highlights include documentary director KIM Dong-won's latest, "63 Years On", about the 'comfort women' enslaved by the Japanese military in stations across Asia during WW2. The film provides an historical investigation along with interviews with victims still living in Korea, China, and the Philippines. KIM is best known for his 2003 film Repatriation which raised the documentary genre to commercial prominence in South Korea.

In the Korean Cinema on the Move section, presents 10 new independent features mostly by debut directors. Among the most interesting are "Synching Blue" by SEO Won-tae, a director whose shorts films have garnered praise for their visual arrangements. This HD feature is about a man who seeks comfort i...| More

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9th JIFF Announces Stellar Line-up

2008/04/09 | Source | Permalink |

The 9th edition of the Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF), second only to Pusan among Korea's top movie-going events, will take place May 1 – 9, 2008 in its picturesque namesake city, in North Jeolla province. At a press conference held in Seoul last week, JIFF announced an impressive line-up of 169 films.

Festival opener will be MANDA Kunitoshi's The Kiss in its International Premiere. Japanese writer-turned-director MANDA has already gained notice and won prizes at Cannes for his previous films, making his latest work highly anticipated.

Korean anthology film If You Were Me 4 will close the festival, this time featuring five shorts on the theme of contemporary Korean youth. Rising Korean directors including BANG Eun-jin ("Princess Aurora"), KIM Tae-yong ("Family Ties" - "The Birth of a Family"), and YOON Seong-ho ("Milky Way Liberation Front") participated.

JIFF has renamed its 'Indie Vision' section the 'International Competition' section, raising its profile...| More

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Soo: Hard-hitting film by CHOI Yang-il (SAI Yoichi)

2007/03/13 | Source | Permalink |

Korean-Japanese director CHOI Yang-il, known in Japan as SAI Yoichi, is in town with his first film made entirely in Korea with a Korean cast. "Soo", is a hard-boiled revenge-thriller about a man, Tae-su, who witnesses the killing of his identical twin brother Tae-jin. Recovering from the trauma, he sets out to cold-bloodedly avenge his brother's murder in a grisly, exacting fashion.

Actor JI Jin-Hee ("Bewitching Attraction", 2006) in his first action picture, takes up the challenge of playing both roles as the twin brothers. Also starring are KANG Seong-yeon ("The King and the Clown", 2005) MOON Seong-geun ("Princess Aurora", 2005, "Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors" 2000), LEE KI-young ("Marathon", 2005) and OH Man-seok ("A Cruel Attendance", 2006).

Veteran director CHOI is internationally known for the films he has made in Japan, including 2004's "Blood and Bones", based on a Korean epic novel, and starring KITANO Takeshi. After it's premiere at the Pusan Internation...| More

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Hyeon Yeong Swaps TV Studio for Courtroom

2006/07/07 | Source | Permalink |

TV personality Hyeon Yeong stood trial on Friday for breaking her contract with a cosmetics company. The firm, France Laure, sued the TV star and her agent for loss of earnings saying Hyeon broke a promise to act as a promotional model after signing a contract and receiving an initial payment. It is seeking W350 million (US$1=W948) in damages.

Hyeon attended court dressed demurely in a black suit. Accused of missing a promotional event, she argued her agent and manager arranged her schedule and she was late for another event.

The actress said she was unable to resolve the dispute by simply accepting shoots for France Laure now since she changed her agent, and the decision was therefore not hers to make. However, she expressed willingness to settle the dispute.

Judges seemed tickled to have a star in their courtroom. The presiding judge said the two sides would settle the dispute without making it more serious and expressed hope of getting an autograph"for his daughters".

Hy...| More

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