Lee Seong-gang (이성강)

PiFan to Hold Genre Project Market

2008/06/24 | Source | Permalink |

The Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan), now in its 12th edition, is launching a project market under the heading Network of Asian Fantastic Films (NAFF2008). The 5 day platform will be launched during PiFan's 10-day run July 18 – 27 and will present projects from Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, the US and the UK among others.

NAFF2008 was conceived to provide an impetus to Asian genre cinema and to encourage development and financing of officially selected genre projects. The main section, 'It Project' will present 16 projects from 8 countries and will take place July 20 – 22 at the Koryo Hotel in Bucheon. Business meetings, jury deliberation and cash awards will provide filmmakers exciting opportunities to advance their projects.

Korean projects officially selected are action features "Shanghai" by director JEONG Doo-hong and "A Song of Mobsters" by JEONG Byeong-Gil ("Action Boys") the horror film "Astral Control" (working title), by LEE Kwon ("Attack o...| More

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2nd London Korean Film Festival Starts

2007/11/01 | Source | Permalink |

15 Korean films are being showcased this November at the 2nd annual London Korean Film Festival, screening at the Barbican in London's financial district. Opening the weeklong festival, which runs the 2nd to the 8th, is KIM Ki-duk's 2007 Cannes competition entry, "Breath". The film quickly sold-out as has the festival's curtain-closer, "I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK", which won the Berlin Alfred Bauer prize this year for director PARK Chan-wook.

Director PARK will present the closing film and lead a 'Screen-Talk' with the audience following the screening. Two films from PARK's famed vengeance trilogy, "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" (2006) and "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" (2002) will also be screened, forming a mini-retrospective of the director's work.

Along with "Breath", KIM's 2006 feature Time will also be screened. Other films in the program are festival-favourite and Thessaloniki top prize winner "Family Ties" ("The Birth of a Family") by KIM Tae-yong, gangster-yarn "A...| More

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A Fresh Start for Korean Cinema: Overview of the First Half of 2007

2007/07/23 | Source | Permalink |

Korean films have delved into new topics and covered a wide range of genres the first half of the year. Coming off of a disappointing year at the box office, the Korean film industry has answered with a number of truly noteworthy works of art. Although many of the films released this year were funded before the industry crisis of 2006, they have not generated the type of profits that once raised eyebrows around the world during the Korean film boom a few years ago.

The Industry has suffered greatly in the past year for many reasons. The Korean film boom spawned many hastily planned productions that ended up failing in theaters. Recently, after the loosening of the screen quota and the influence of the labor union on production costs, Korean film companies are investing with far more reluctance. None the less, this year Korea has unleashed the last batch of films that were direct products of the boom.

Whether funded during the boom or during the cr...| More

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"Aachi and Ssipak" wins the grand prix at SICAF 2007

2007/06/07 | Source | Permalink |

The animation "Aachi and Ssipak" (director: Jo Beom-Jin; production: JTeam Studio) won the grand prix at the 2007 Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival (SICAF 2007),which was concluded at the end of last month.

Of the more than 350 feature-length and short animation films invited from 41 countries and 169 official selections, "Aachi and Ssipak" competed against some of the best animated films such as "Yobi, The Five Tailed Fox" (Korea; director: Lee Seong-Gang), Lotte From Gadgetville (Estonia), and The Khan Kluay: Elephant King (Thailand), and won the grand prix for its storyline's uniqueness and creativity and exceptional quality.

Having received much attention as some of Korea's top actors, such as Ryoo Seung-Beom, Im Chang-Jeong, Hyeon Yeong, and Sin Hae-Cheol, lent their voices to the characters in "Aachi and Ssipak", the film had premiered in Korea in June last year and had been chosen as a star project by the Korea Culture and Content Agency (KOCCA, CEO: Suh,...| More

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Art House Venue in Seoul Tempts Foreigners

2007/05/08 | Source | Permalink |

Korean film distribution company Mirovision has built an intimate state of the art theater that will run Korean independent and artistically oriented foreign films. The 10 year old film company says it is dedicated to bringing the best of alternative cinema to Seoul audiences, and its 120 seat venue named Miro Space will launch with two English-subtitled critically praised Korean features.

Opening May 3rd was KIM Tae-sik's "Driving With My Wife's Lover", which has toured various high profile festivals including Sundance and the Berlinale. In this black-comedy, small-town shop owner Tae-han learns that his wife is having an affair with Joong-sik, a Seoul taxi-driver. Intending to violently confront him, Tae-han goes to Seoul and hails Joog-sik's cab, asking for a long-distance trip back to his small town.

From May 10th, LEE Seong-gang's "Texture of Skin" will run for one week, also with English subtitles. It is the live-action feature debut of director LEE, known for his ani...| More

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