Kim Dong-won (김동원)

2008/04/19 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

By Nigel D'Sa
Contributing Writer

The 9th Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) is nearing, and an impressive line-up of films has been announced for this year's event.

Set in its picturesque namesake city in Jeollabuk-do (province), JIFF runs May 1-9, bringing together innovative and independent films and filmmakers from around the world.

This year's program boasts a record total of 169 films with opening night going to Manda Kunitoshi's The Kiss in its International Premiere.

Japanese writer-turned-director Manda has already gained notice and won prizes at Cannes for his previous films, making this latest work highly anticipated.

JIFF's curtain-closer will be the Korean omnibus film "If You Were Me 4", produced by the National Human Rights Commission.

Each film in the series has a human rights issue as its theme with past concerns ranging from discrimination to forced surgery and bringing together a group of talented directors.

This year's project fe...

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2008/04/16 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

Ten Korean features will have their World Premiere at the Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) this spring. Now in it's 9th edition the festival will run May 1st – 9th in the attractive and historical city of Jeonju, in North Jeolla province.

Korean highlights include documentary director KIM Dong-won's latest, "63 Years On", about the 'comfort women' enslaved by the Japanese military in stations across Asia during WW2. The film provides an historical investigation along with interviews with victims still living in Korea, China, and the Philippines. KIM is best known for his 2003 film Repatriation which raised the documentary genre to commercial prominence in South Korea.

In the Korean Cinema on the Move section, presents 10 new independent features mostly by debut directors. Among the most interesting are "Synching Blue" by SEO Won-tae, a director whose shorts films have garnered praise for their visual arrangements. This HD feature is about a man who seeks comfort i...

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2008/03/28 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

At Daehak-Ro's Arko Arts Theater yesterday, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Yu In-chon, announced that there will be increased support for "pure artistry" by allocating more space for artists to exhibit their work.

Minister Yu had been invited to give the congratulatory speech for the event celebrating the 100 year anniversary for theater arts. "As a thespian myself, I am proud to witness the 100th year of Korean theater", he stated in his speech.

"The art community has requested a theater for plays, one for dance performances, and another for sori (Korean traditional music). We will find locations where our artists can practice or display their work freely", Minister Yu continued. "We will convert the sites of the Dangin-Ri power plant, Defense Security Command Center, and old Seoul Station into cultural spaces, once the buildings have been moved as previously planned".

The minister showed tearful emotion during his speech when he said that "I feel as though the ...

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2007/11/13 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

An English book on director PARK Chan-wook has been published following books on director IM Kwon-taek, KIM Ki-young, LEE Chang-dong, KIM Dong-won and HONG Sang-soo.

This book is an introductory guide to PARK Chan-wook, the 2004 Cannes Grand prix winner and one of the most acclaimed and popular Korean film directors. The book, written by KIM Young-jin, one of the most distinguished film critics in Korea, looks within with an insider's eyes and gropes roughly for the root and stems of the cinematic world of PARK, who has achieved both critical and commercial success, performing stunts verging on the acrobatic between genre convention and auteur individuality.

PARK Chan-wook, a late bloomer who made only two films in the 1990s while simultaneously working as a critic, has constructed his very own world, combining the uncompromising directorial character of a B movie with an elliptical and poetic style that can appeal to the sensibilities of the post-MTV generation, while unafrai...

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2007/11/06 | Source | Permalink |  Digg |  del.icio.us | Stumble It! | Share this news

An English book on director HONG Sang-soo, one of the most renowned auteurs at the Korean film scene, has been published following books on director IM Kwon-taek, KIM Ki-young, LEE Chang-dong and KIM Dong-won.

When HONG Sang-soo's debut work, "The Day a Pig Fell into the Well", was released in May 1996, the nation's film critics were thrown into shock. The cinematic language in the film was unprecedented in Korean film history. Since then, HONG has continued to show his own distinctive style with near perfection in his following works. This book, written by HUH Moon-yung, one of the most distinguished film critics in Korea, is intended to help readers to better understand the cinematic world of HONG Sang-soo. The book also includes analyses by prominent film critic, David Bordwell and renowned French film director, Claire Denis.

The publication is part of the 'Korean Film Directors Series', a project initiated by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) to internationally promote Korean ...

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