CJ Entertainment, one the nation's largest investors in, and distributors of, films is being criticized for a failure to screen a local movie at an international film festival last week and handle the situation.
"The King and the Clown", the 2005 Korean box-office hit, was supposed to be shown at the London Film Festival as part of the event's "Film on the Square" selection on Oct. 19. However, when the film failed to arrive at the festival headquarters on time, organizers were forced to cancel the two scheduled screenings.
In a statement issued by CJ Entertainment on Oct. 20, the company said that the international courier company had delivered the film and it had arrived in London on 5:49 p.m. on Oct. 19 but was not screened because of a mix-up by the festival organizers.
According to a report by Yonhap News Agency, the film that had arrived on Oct. 19 was a version without subtitles and the version that was fit for screening actually arrived in London on the evening of Oct. 20.
CJ Entertainment's only explanation was that the courier company had misinformed them about the date of the arrival of the film.
"The King and the Clown", the tale of two court jesters in the 16th century Choson Kingdom, rewrote local film history by attracting 12 million viewers last year, making it the second most-watched film here ever. The movie is to be submitted to the Academy Awards for a chance to compete in the foreign film category.
The London Film Festival is the United Kingdom's largest public film festival and is held every year by the British Film Institute and The Times newspaper. The event, which opened Oct. 18 and will be held through Nov. 2, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, screening 300 films from 60 countries.
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