2nd London Korean Film Festival Starts

15 Korean films are being showcased this November at the 2nd annual London Korean Film Festival, screening at the Barbican in London's financial district. Opening the weeklong festival, which runs the 2nd to the 8th, is Kim Ki-duk's 2007 Cannes competition entry, "Breath". The film quickly sold-out as has the festival's curtain-closer, "I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK", which won the Berlin Alfred Bauer prize this year for director Park Chan-wook.

Director PARK will present the closing film and lead a 'Screen-Talk' with the audience following the screening. Two films from PARK's famed vengeance trilogy, "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" (2006) and "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" (2002) will also be screened, forming a mini-retrospective of the director's work.

Along with "Breath", KIM's 2006 feature Time will also be screened. Other films in the program are festival-favourite and Thessaloniki top prize winner "Family Ties" ("The Birth of a Family") by Kim Tae-yong, gangster-yarn "A Dirty Carnival" by Yoo Ha, Choi Dong-hoon's successful gamble "Tazza: The High Rollers" ("The War Of Flower"), and two Chosun-period films, the mega-hit "The King and the Clown" by Lee Joon-ik and the erotically themed "Forbidden Quest" by Kim Dae-woo.

In children's animation, "Yobi, The Five Tailed Fox" by Lee Seong-gang, "Empress Chung" by Nelson Shin and "The Great Pig Pirate Mateo" ("Mateo") by Song Geun-sik. Two classics of the Korean screen, "My Mother and the Houseguest"by SHIN Sang-ok and "Madame Freedom" by HAN Hyeong-mo are also in the program.

The event will spotlight the quality and diversity of Korean films, providing London audiences with an insight into contemporary Korean culture. In October, the UK Film Council and Korean Film Council(KOFIC) signed their first Co-Distribution Agreement, which provides print and marketing support to each other's film exports. The deal goes into effect this month.

Nigel D'Sa (KOFIC)