Lim Soon-rye (임순례)

'Cinescape' - Escape to Film Festivals This Month

Source | 2009/08/06 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

There's nothing like spending a warm summer evening by the sea, but why not make it extra special with an outdoor movie screening? Two film festivals invite not only movie buffs but also vacationers to scenic vacation spots ― the Jeongdongjin Independent Film & Video Festival and Jecheon International Music Film Festival.

Cinematic Getaways

By the Beach

This weekend, Jeongdongjin, Gangwon Province, which is known for its beautiful beach, turns into an open-air film festival. The Jeongdongjin Independent Film & Video Festival screens its entire lineup outdoors, and visitors can indulge in the creativity and free spirit of indie flicks beneath the star-lit sky.

Director-actor Yang Ik-joon and actress Kim KKobbi will host the opening ceremony 7:30 p.m. tonight at Jeongdongjin Elementary School. Their indie film "Breathless" has been making headlines as it reaped one award after another at international film festivals ― three prize...| More

Summer Action Flicks Are Coming

Source | 2009/06/30 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Every summer, big budget Hollywood movies flow in, and many worry about the potential threat to homegrown films. Recent trends, however, suggest that competition is healthy.

"The fact that such a comparison (between national and international franchises) is even possible is unique; there aren't so many countries around the world where domestic films can compete with American ones", Han Seung-hee, researcher at the Korean Film Council, told The Korea Times.

After the turn of the new millennium, the Korean film industry enjoyed rapid growth, with blockbusters rewriting box office history each year. But the market plummeted for the first time last year, and investment and production hit an all time low. Moviegoers even criticized films that fared well at the box office as being formulaic.

So far, 2009 looks better. The success of "A Frozen Flower" and "Scandal Makers" ("Speedy Scandal") opened up a promising new year. Although February and March...| More

HONG Sang-soo casts MOON So-ri

Source | 2009/06/12 | 0 comments | Permalink |

2002 Venice Film Festival's Best actress winner MOON So-ri will challenge herself this time with a leading role in director HONG Sang-soo's next project. Details about HONG's film are sparse. The celebrated indie director is known for improvisation, writing and rewriting while filming.
 
KIM Sang-kyeong has been cast in the male leading role. It will be KIM's third film with HONG after "On the Occasion of Remembering the Turning Gate" in 2002, and "Tale of Cinema" in 2005. KIM also worked with directors like BONG Joon-ho ("Memories of Murder") and KIM Ji-hoon ("May 18").
 
HONG's latest feature film "Like You Know it All" was invited by Festival de Cannes. HONG's films are conveted by film festivals around the world. He garnered acclaim from his first films "The Day a Pig Fell into a Well" and "The Power of Kangwon Province" on.
 
MOON So-ri is well known for her acting skills which attracted LIM Soon-rye ("Forever the Moment") and KIM Tae-yong ("Family Ties" - "The Birth of a Fa...| More

Jeonju Unveils Korean Competition Films

Source | 2009/04/09 | 0 comments | Permalink |

The 10th Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF), one of Korea's three major cinema showcases along with PIFF and PiFan, has revealed a selection of 11 new films for its Korean Feature Competition section that will vie for the JJ Star Award for top film, a cash award of 10 million Won.

Among the films selected are director SIN Dong-il's third feature, "Bandhobi", which tells about the relationship between a Bangladeshi laborer and a Korean high school girl. SIN debuted with the award-winning "Host and Guest" (2005) and followed it up with the critically praised "My Friend and His Wife" (2006).

Other notables include LIM Soon-rye's latest, "Fly, Penguin", a human-rights themed drama starring MOON So-ri; KIM Eung-su's HD feature "The Origin of Water" about a mysterious painting and a man who goes in search of the scenery depicted in it.

Feature debut directors are many, including CHO Kyeong-duk with "Sex Volunteer", SIM Sang-kook with "Where is Ronny... ", KIM Aaron with ...| More

LIM Soon-rye Returns with New Feature

Source | 2009/04/09 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Korea's top woman filmmaker LIM Soon-rye, director of 2008's first local hit, "Forever the Moment", is back in 2009 with her fourth feature, "Fly, Penguin" which will have its world premiere at the 10th Jeonju International Film Festival in the Korean Feature Competition section.

The feature stars award-winning actress MOON So-ri, along with PARK Won-sang, PARK In-hwan and JEONG Hye-seon – all of whom appeared in LIM's previous film "Forever the Moment". The new feature is the very first to be produced and sponsored by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, known for its If You Were Me series of omnibus films.

"Fly, Penguin" is a human-rights themed tale that visits controversial sites in Korean society including the heavy burdens of private education on kids and their financially strapped parents, prejudices towards vegetarians, gender discrimination, and twilight divorce (divorce of couples in their 50s and 60s).

LIM emerged in the 90s with her award-winning sho...| More