Brief History of Independent Films Screened in Seoul

By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter

Representative works by 10 local independent filmmakers will be screened with English subtitles from Friday to July 12 at Seoul Arts Cinema.

The event, titled "Yesterday and Today (Ojewa Onol)", will show a total of 20 films in five days and also offer sessions in which directors talk about their works along with film critics and audiences at a cafe in the theater on July 11.

During the event, each director will introduce their two films, one from their early works and the most recent one.

It will be a good opportunity to see how each filmmaker's works have changed over the years and to check out how the trends of independent films have changed, organizers said.

The 10 directors include Choi Jin-seong, Kim Jong-kwan, Yoon Seong-ho, Park Chan-ok and Chegy.

Choi made a debut with a documentary film, which dealt with social problems and issues, but he has recently made a fiction film with touches of fantasy music.

One of his early works to be screened during the event is his 2002 documentary film, "The World Cup of Their Own Version 2.0", that sheds light on the suppression behind the liveliness and success of the international football event that took place in that year. His latest work, "Hitchhiking", revolves around a couple who find each unattractive after six months of dating.

Kim's two works, "Wounded" in 2002 and "How to Operate a Polaroid Camera" in 2004, capture an interesting moment of life in very different ways. "Wounded" depicts in slow motion the separation of a boy and girl on a big road with a pedestrian crossing without dialogue and using the noisy sounds of cars. "How to Operate a Polaroid Camera" shows the shyness of a girl who falls in love with a man but can't propose to him.

Chegy's two works, "Prepared Landscape" in 1999 and "Fade into You" in 2004, show his experimental depiction of images. The works depict a series of repeated and apparently meaningless images which leave the impression of a story.

The event is a part of an annual program that the theater holds to show the history of local independent film and give insight into how film will be developed in the future.

The program began with "CinEssay" in May, which showed a collection of films made in the format of an essay, and will continue in September and December with other themes.

Tickets are 5,000 won. The theater is located within walking distance of Chonggak Station on subway line 1 and Chongno 3-ga Station on subway lines 2, 3 and 5. For more information call (02) 741-9782 or go to Open the link .