Ahn Seul-gi (안슬기)

KIM Gok wins Grand prize at Seoul fest

Source | 2008/12/22 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Director KIM Gok's "Exhausted" received the Grand prize from the Seoul Independent Film Festival which ended on December 19. "Exhausted" is a film about a prostitute in an industrial area.

The Best film award went to PARK Ji-youn's animation "The Things She Can't Avoid in the City". The imaginative story of a struggling woman in the city previously competed at the Melbourne International Animation Festival, Women's Film Festival in Seoul, and Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival.

KIM Gok directed the 2006 productions Geo-Lobotomy and a short film which is part of the omnibus film "If You Were Me 3", both co-directed with KIM Sun.

Yi Ch'ang-ho (KOFIC)

Remaining awards:

Kodak award: "Land of the Scarecrow"s (ROH Kyeong-tae)

Award for excellence: "3xFTM" (KIM Il-rhan), "125 Jeon Seung-chul" (PARK Jung-bum)

Special award: AHN Seul-gi

Maverick award: "Self-Referential Traverse" (KIM Gok, KIM Sun)

Audience award: "Old Partner" (LEE Chung-ryoul)

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Korean World Premieres at PIFF 2008

Source | 2008/09/30 | 0 comments | Permalink |

The Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) is putting its weight behind local films this year, and, under the catch-phrase 'Way to Go, Korea!' will host the World Premier of 15 Korean features. Headlining is closing film "I am Happy" by YOON Jong-chan, a psychiatric drama based on a novel by Korean literary giant, the late LEE Chong-jun. The fest runs Oct 2 – 10 in the south-eastern port city of Busan.

PIFF's competition section, New Currents, will see the World Premieres of 3 Korean features. "Land of Scarecrows" is the sophomore effort by NOH Kyeong-tae ("The Last Dining Table"), a poetical cross-section of the lives of Korea's outsiders in pursuit of vanishing dreams. "Members of the Funeral" by BAEK Seung-bin is an HD feature about a family mourning the passing of relative and the memories it triggers, while KIM Tae-gon's "The Pot" focuses on the uncanny happenings surrounding a small family in their new apartment.

In the Korean Cinema Today – Panorama section are sev...| More

[MOVIE REVIEW] Zooming in on the hidden side of youth

Source | 2008/04/22 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Director Ahn Seul-gi has a discerning eye for Korean youth and their wanderings. As a teacher, Ahn has observed how they struggle to figure out their roles in society where the outlook remains gloomy for many poverty-stricken students.

"My Song Is... " (Korean title: "Na-ui norae-neun") is a small-budget film that Ahn shot and produced during a school vacation period. Though the movie's overall scale is small, the challenges facing key characters are profoundly intense and realistic.

On a cold day, Hee-cheol (Sin Hyeon-ho) wakes up to find out he is missing a crucial college entrance exam. His indifferent grandmother has apparently turned off his alarm clock. Frustrated at her carelessness, Hee-cheol vents his anger at his grandmother, but she simply shrugs it off as if nothing important has happened.

In fact, the grandmother's gesture is telling in many respects. Hee-cheol lives with his aloof grandmother at a shabby house in an obscure area of Seoul. His father, a foul-mouth...| More

Korean Films Premiering at PIFF

Source | 2007/10/02 | 0 comments | Permalink |

A slew of Korean features will have their World Premiere at the 12th Pusan International Film Festival, which opens October 4 for a 9 day run. A special highlight of the festival is "The Friends", a long-awaited second feature from director LEE Yeong-jae, whose debut was the endearing classic "The Harmonium in My Memory" (1999). The Friends is the story of three 6th graders who, curious about death, decide to visit a dying old man.

Films from new voices and recent film school graduates include KIM Sun-hee's "Drawing Paper", her HD feature debut - a coming-of-age story about the members of a girls high school band, and "Nowhere to Turn" by debut director LEE Seung-yeong, a similar-themed story of a young musically inclined girl discovering life.

The documentary "Lineage of the Voice" follows two boys from very different backgrounds as they develop their talent for the traditional singing practice called pansori. It is directed by Yeon-ah Paik, who was the editor on Daniel Gor...| More

PIFF's Promising Line-up Sets Records

Source | 2007/09/04 | 0 comments | Permalink |

The Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) will continue its progress with 275 films and a record number of 193 premieres and the inauguration of new programs. PIFF's flagship New Currents competition boasts a complete selection of eleven world and international premieres. The 12th edition of Asia's major international film festival will run from October 4 until the 12th.

New Currents showcases low-budget independent films of emerging talented filmmakers. The Korean innovative competitors in New Currents are YOON Seong-ho's "Milky Way Liberation Front" and "My Song Is... " by AHN Seul-gi. The Chinese-Korean co-production "Life Track" (director JIN Guang-hao) is another contender.

PIFF complemented its program with the new sections Gala Presentation and Flash Forward. Gala Presentation focuses on films of "master cineastes" or world/international premieres. It will be an extensive program with several related events, including press conferences. The presence of visual audaciou...| More