Yoon Jong-chan (윤종찬)

Hyeon Bin: 'There is No Right Answer for Happiness'

Source | 2009/11/17 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Actor Hyeon Bin's long hair and baggy jacket do not make him look any different from what he looked like before. But the way he appears in the movie "I Am Happy" is anything but the same. The look in his eyes and his whole body say that he is a different person. His character definitely stands apart from his characters in the TV dramas "My Name is Kim Sam-soon" and "Worlds Within".

To Hyeon Bin, the movie "I Am Happy" was like his graduation. Though the actor is currently preparing for his next production in the U.S.--the remake of the movie "Late Autumn"--he squeezed time from his busy schedule to attend the screening of "I Am Happy". We met with him on November 16 at a cafe in southern Seoul.

"I Am Happy" was screened at last year's Pusan International Film Festival as the closing film. It finally opened more than a year later. Hyeon Bin said, "I wasn't worried about the late opening and about how many viewers would come to see it. It was quality time for me because I thought a...| More

PiFan Launches 2 New Awards

Source | 2009/07/09 | 0 comments | Permalink |

The 13th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival, taking place July 16 – 26, has announced the launch of 2 new awards this year, the NETPAC and the Fujifilm Eterna award. Both awards will be presided over by juries, with the former going to an Asian film and the latter to a Korean film.

The NETPAC award will be given out to the best Asian film in the 'Off the Fantastic' section which introduces new offbeat genre films from throughout Asia. PiFan has created the Fujifilm Eterna Award for the purpose of promoting Korean independent feature films. As a prize, 8000ft of Fujifilm Eterna will be awarded to the best Korean independent feature film.

Award-winners will be announced July 23 at the Closing Night Ceremony, although screenings will continue until the 26th. Heading this year's Puchon Choice Jury which presents awards in five categories is Tony Rayns, a British specialist in Asian cinema, festival programmer and contributor to Sight and Sounds magazine.

Acclaimed Ko...| More

Fajr Film Fest Hosts Korean Retrospective

Source | 2009/01/14 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Iran's major annual film event, the 27th Fajr International Film Festival (FIFF), held in Tehran, will showcase a retrospective of contemporary Korean films. 13 features produced from the years 2000 through 2008 will screen in the Persian capital, January 30 to February 10, 2009.

Along with the retrospective, JEON Soo-il's "With a Girl of Black Soil" (2007) was selected in the line-up of the Asian Cinema competition section. It will vie alongside North Korean film "A School Girl's Diary" by JAN In-hak and 11 other features from across Asia.

Among selections in the retrospective are titles such as PARK Chan-wook's "JSA - Joint Security Area" (2000), BAEK Woon-Hak's "Tube" (2003), KIM Ji-woon's "The Good, the Bad, the Weird" (2008), JOO Kyeong-joong's "A Little Monk" (2002), and SHIM Hyung-rae's "D-War" (2007).

In previous year's a number of Korean films have won awards at FIFF, including YOON Jong-chan's "Blue Swallow", which won the Best Screenplay award for Asian Cinema ...| More

6th Asiana International Short Film Fest

Source | 2008/11/06 | 0 comments | Permalink |

The 6th edition of the Asiana International Short Film Festival (AISFF) kicks off November 5th at Cinecube theater in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul. Opening the fest is the World Premiere of Korean short, "Seven Superheroes VS. Monster F" by director PARK Jay. The tale is of seven superheroes living ordinary lives in the same building until one day their peace is disrupted by a ferocious monster. It will be followed by French short, Manon of the Asphalt.

Veteran actor AHN Seong-gi ("Duelist") heads AISFF, which runs for 6 days. It will close November 10th with an awards ceremony and 10 prizes including a Grand Prize worth US$ 12,000 and a screening of the top winner.

Heading this year's international jury is Japanese auteur director Kôhei Oguri, whose 1996 film Sleeping Man, starred fest director AHN. The jury also includes director YOON Jong-chan, whose latest film "I am Happy" closed the Pusan Int'l Film Fest.

Top Korean actress KIM Hye-soo will participate as a special...| More

AHN Seong-gi to present Asiana Short Film Fest

Source | 2008/10/23 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Asiana International Short Film Festival will undertake its 6th edition from November 5 until the 11th at Cinecube, located in Gwanghwamun, Northern Seoul. Under the supervision of Korea's leading actor AHN Seong-gi, 52 films with up to 30 different national identities were selected for the international competition section out of 1,743 submissions from 69 countries.

Korean PARK Jay's Seven Superheroes vs. Monster F, and French Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont's Manon on the Asphalt will kick off the festival. This year's Asiana will also screen short films of illustrious filmmakers, including Wong ar Wai and Andrei Tarkovsky.

The short film festival international competition section includes eleven Korean films:

Stop (PARK Jae Ok)

Going Together (KIM Jae Young)

Contemporary Moods (LEE Hyun Ji)

Hybrid (KIM Sae No)

Out of My Intention (YOO Ji Tae)

Refresh Her… (LEE Seung Nam)

Auld Lang Syne (SO Jun Moon)

Your World (SEO Jae Gyung)

Good Night (CHAE Min ...| More