62nd Cannes Selects 9 Korean Films

A total of 9 Korean films including 5 features have been invited to the official line-up of the 62nd Cannes Film Festival, which runs May 13 – 24 in the famed coastal city of southern France. Headlining the robust range of Korean films this year is Park Chan-wook's vampire thriller, "Thirst", one of 20 world class films in competition for the Palme D'or.

PARK's tale of a priest-turned-vampire whose nocturnal cravings result in an illicit affair with his friend's young wife, stars top local star Song Kang-ho and is the second time the director has had a film in competition at Cannes since his Grand Prize win for Old Boy in 2004.


Bong Joon-ho, director of the 2006 smash hit "The Host", will screen his upcoming fourth feature, "Mother - 2009", in Cannes Un Certain Regard section. The film stars veteran star Kim Hye-ja as a mother determined to save her 28-year-old-son (played by Won Bin) who has unwittingly become the prime suspect in a murder case.


Recently added to the line-up is debut director Ounie Lecomte's biographical feature "A Brand New Life", a Korean-French co-production. Lecomte's film recalls her early childhood in Korea when she was given up by her parents and put in an orphanage before finding a home in France. It will be presented in a Special Screenings section under the title Lee Chang-dong Presents.

LEE, who is credited as producer and co-writer of "A Brand New Life", was director of the 2007 Cannes selection "Secret Sunshine", which won a Best Actress prize for lead, Jeon Do-yeon. LEE will sit on the international jury of Cannes this year that will decide on the festival's major prizes.

No stranger to Cannes, director Hong Sang-soo will screen his latest, titled "Like You Know It All", in the prestigious Directors' Fortnight section. The fifth Korean feature to screen is 1961 classic Prince Yeonsan by legendary director SHIN Sang-ok. It will unspool in the Classics: New or Restored Prints category.

Also in the Directors' Fortnight section is the 10-minute animated short "Dust Kid" by JUNG Yu-mi. Rounding out the Korean shorts are "Don't Step out of the House" by Jo Sung-hee (part of "Nice Shorts") and "The Horn" by YIM Kyung-dong, both in the Cinéfondation program . The short film 6 Hours by MOON Seong-hyeok will screen in the International Critics' Week section.

David Oxenbridge & Nigel D'Sa (KOFIC)