The fourth London Korean Film Festival 2009 runs from Nov. 1 to 18 and already some of the big name directors in Korea have flown to the United Kingdom to promote Korean movies. Prior celebrations and functions aside, the actual first screening was on Thursday (Nov. 5).
This year's film festival, with 25 feature films and four animations from Korea, is organized by the Korean Cultural Center in the United Kingdom and the Korea Creative Content Agency, with the support of the Korean government.
The films will be screened at the BFI (British Film Institute) from Nov. 1 to 14; the London Barbican Centre from Nov. 5 to 12; Manchester Cornerhouse from Nov. 7 to 9; and Nottingham Broadway Cinema from Nov. 16 to 18.
Some award-winning directors from Korea, namely director
Park Chan-wook and
Bong Joon-ho will visit London with their respective works,
"Thirst" (2009) and
"Mother - 2009" (2009). The Thirst, which won a Jury Prize at the 62nd Cannes International Film Festival this year, is the opener for the film festival. Park will also meet with his fans there and hold a question and answer session.
Other recent hit movies from Korea will also be screened in London, including
"Breathless", "
Insadong Scandal",
"Rough Cut", "
A Frozen Flower", and "
Private Eye". There will be a retrospective of works by the late Yu Hyun-mok (1925-2009), "Aimless Bullet" (1961), "Kim's Daughters" (1963), and "Martyr" (1965).
On the weekend of Nov. 7 and 8, a workshop for children will be held, followed by Korean animations like "
Oseam" (2003) and "
The Story of Mr. Sorry" (2008).
The London BFI will especially highlight the works of director
Bong Joon-ho, featuring 10 of his films, including short pieces he made in his school days. The short films will include "White Man" (1994), "Sink and Rise" (2003), "Incoherence" (1994) and more. The feature films that made his name will also be shown, namely
"The Host" (2006), "
Memories of Murder" (2003), and "
Barking Dogs Never Bite" (2000). The viewers will also get to converse with the director: on the final day Bong will hold question and answering session with Tony Rayns, a well known British film critic.
For more information visit the website of The London Korean Film Festival 2009 (
Open the link) or see the schedule shown at the Korean Cultural Center in London (
Open the link).
By Kim Hee-sung
Korea.net Staff Writer
