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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Poster for Korean film "Elbowroom" [Gun Cinema]
Korean film "Elbowroom" has been officially invited to the 39th Rotterdam International Film Festival, according to the film's producer Gun Cinema on Monday.
"Elbowroom" will be shown in the "Bright Future" section -- a non-competitive category which introduces works by new promising directors -- at the film fest, to be held in Rotterdam starting January 27....More
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
The past year represented hope and revitalization for Korean cinema. While problems such as piracy linger on, the forecast for 2010 cinema appears promising with diverse projects in the making.
Cineastes are finding inspiration from the past and are bringing remakes of Korean classics as well as unique period movies. Big action flicks are gearing up for the 60th anniversary of the Korean War (1950-53) while much-anticipated sequels will cater to fans. Furthermore, a couple of Hollywood projects will head here for shoots.
2009 in Review
Both commercial blockbusters and unique indie films pulled the industry out of a three-year slump and cineastes made their mark near and far.
Kim Choung-ryoul's documentary
"Old Partner" rewrote box-office history for the genre, while
Yang Ik-joon's
"Breathless" made waves by sweeping almost two dozen prizes at international festivals.
Park Chan-ok's low-budget drama
"Paju" was well-received among critics and moviegoers and the micro-budget road movie "
Daytime Drinking" gained popularity near and far.
The positivity peaked in the summer. The success of the sports movie
"Take Off" fed directly into the big-time box office scores set by the tsunami blockbuster
"Haeundae", which drew over 10 million audience members in Korea for the first time in three years since
"The Host" in 2006.
Stars shined strongly through the big screen. Korean actors debuted in foreign works, most notably
Lee Byeong-Heon in "G.I. Joe" and
Rain in "
Ninja Assassin", while
Kim Myeong-min made headlines for shedding 20 kilograms for his role in "
Closer to Heaven".
Celebrity directors also made long-awaited returns.
Park Chan-wook revisited the Cannes Festival with his vampire flick
"Thirst" while
Bong Joon-ho made a splash with the thriller
"Mother - 2009".
On the flip side, illegal online distributions of
"Haeundae", before its release in Chinese theaters, and of
"Thirst", before DVD sales opened in the United States, led to big financial blows and signaled the red light on piracy. The country's top stars, including
Jang Dong-gun and
Kim Tae-hee, stepped up as representatives for the anti-piracy campaign: "Good Downloader".
Meanwhile, imported 3D movies tapped into the local theater market. While the number of theaters catering to the genre remains relatively small, there seems to be growing reception for 3D films. Animations such as "Monster vs. Aliens" and "Up" drew family audiences while "Avatar", new in theaters, has drawn over 1 million audiences in the shortest timeframe among 2009 films.
2010 Forecast
Back to Classics
During Korean cinema's Golden Age of the 1960s, well over 100 films rolled out per year (more than 200 from 1968 to 1969), and cineastes are finding inspiration in films from that time. Classics never go out of style, and next year, "The House...
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