The film "Café Noir" by critic-turned-director Jeong Seong-il-I and starring
Moon Jeong-hee has been invited to the Bright Future section of the 39th annual International Rotterdam Film Festival in the Dutch city.
Moon's agency said it is the actress' second film to be invited to Rotterdam, the first being "Falling Season" in 2002.
The festival is one of the leading non-competition film festivals dedicated to introducing new directors and films to the global industry and serving as a global movie marketplace. But it also has a competiti...
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By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
This weekend in Seoul, movie buffs can re-watch a handful of contemporary classics of Korean cinema on the big screen and meet directors:
Hong Sang-soo and
Song Il-gon.
The Korean Film Archive is hosting a retrospective of 10 films by the minimal realist Hong through Jan. 24 at Cinematheque KOFA, Sangam-dong, Seoul, while "
The Magicians", by artsy experimentalist Song, will reopen Sunday in Daehango.
Hong has established an international reputation as a unique minimalist with video journal-style movies reminiscent of the late Eric Rohmer. The retrospective lineup includes his 1996 directorial debut piece, "...
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By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
The past year was a fruitful one for local independent cinema, with
Lee Chung-ryoul's documentary
"Old Partner" rewriting box office history for the genre and
Yang Ik-joon's
"Breathless" blazing through international film festivals. The festivity culminates with the Seoul Independent Film Festival (SIFF), which continues through Friday in Spongehouse Myeongdong (Joongang Cinema).
The annual year-end event kicked off on Dec. 11 under the theme "Hit and Run". This year SIFF received a whopping record of 722 submissions, up about 100 from last year. A total of 45 works (34 shorts, 11 features) have been selected to compete for several cash prizes. The awards, including the grand prize, amount to 51 million won and will be g...
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'It would be a lie to say I feel no pressure because the movie captures us in such private moments'.
For actress
Ko Hyeon-jeong, the year 2009 will be remembered as the busiest, yet most rewarding of her career, as she has been recognized for her powerful acting skills on both the small and big screens.
She displayed an unprecedented amount of charisma in the hit TV drama "
Queen Seon-deok" as Mishil, a strong female character in whom good and evil coexist as she enforces her rule and pursues her own desires. The show marked the rare appearance of a strong female character in the Korean drama scene.
Ko also won acclaim for her role in the movie "
Like You Know It All" directed by
Hong Sang-soo. It was her second collaboration with the director after the 2006 movie "
Woman on the Beach".
She left acting in 1995 when she got married to current Shinsegae Group CEO Chung Yong-jin. She returned to acting 10 years later following a...
MoreThe film industry is already preparing for next year. Many renowned filmmakers have returned to Korea to produce movies about war and sequels to hit movies.
Director
Im Kwon-taek will produce his 101st movie "Scooping Up The Moonlight". Directors
Kim Tae-yong and Im Sang-soo will produce remakes of "Late Autumn" by
Lee Man-hee and "The Housemaid" of Kim Ki-young, respectively. Films about war will also be introduced to mark the 60th anniversary of the Korean War.
◇The return of maestros
"Scooping Up The Moonlight", which will be produced under the auspices of the Jeonju City government, is
Im Kwon-taek's first film to be shot with digital cameras. It is a story about seventh-grade public servant Jong-ho, who wants to become a fifth-grade official. To achieve his dream, he takes charge of the traditional Korean paper "hanji" at the municipal government and becomes completely mesmerized by it. Jong-ho is played by actor
Park Joong-hoon, who will appear in a Lim production for the first time. Actress
Kang Soo-yeon will work together with Lim for the first time since her appearance in the 1989 movie "Come Come Come Upward".
Actress Yoon Jung-hee, who was one of the top three actresses of the 1960s along with Moon Hee and Nam Jung-im, will make a comeback for the first time after her 1994 movie "Two Flags". She will appear in
Lee Chang-dong's new movie "Poem". It is a story about a 60-something woman who raises her teenage granddaughter and receives basic living subsidies. One day she signs up for a literature class and begins to write her own poems for the first time. The movie is slated to open in early May.
◇War movies
Four films about war will open next year. They will deal with diverse subjects, including student soldiers and maritime clashes between South and North Korea. The majority of them will be large-scale productions costing more than 10 billion won.
Director
Lee Jae-han's "Into The Gunfire", which is to open in June, is about a 12-hour battle that was held between 71 student soldiers and the North Korean Army at the end of the Nakdong River battle during the Korean war. Actors
kwon Sang-woo and T.O.P. (
Choi Seung-hyeon) of the music group Big Bang will play student soldiers. Actor Cha Weung-won will appear as a North Korean commander, while actor
Kim Seung-woo will play a South Korean commander. It is a blockbuster production that will cost 15 billion won to produce and market.
Director Lim Yeo-bin, who produced "Terrorist" in 1995, will this time produce "The Red Muffler 2", which will be a sequel to late Shin Sang-ok's movie "The Red Muffler". The grandson from the original production will appear as an Air Force pilot. The production cost have reached 8 billion won, and the movie is scheduled to open in October on National Army Day.
The second Yeonpyeong Clash of 2002 will be reenacted in the 3D film "We Are Beautiful" (tentative title) and "Yeonpyeong Maritime Clash". The former will be produced by director
Kwak Gyeong-taek, who produced ...
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