Acclaimed director Hong Sang-soo will return to the Berlin International Film Festival with his eighth film "Night and Day", which screens in the festival's competition section. This will be the first time that a film by HONG competes at Berlin, after his previous works "Woman is the Future of Man" (2004) and "Tale of Cinema" (2005) competed at Cannes.

The film, recipient of 2005 KOFIC Production Support for Art Films, which was 90% shot in Paris, stars Kim Yeong-ho as an artist who runs off to France and leaves behind his wife played by Hwang Soo-jeong....More

Short film festival in Berlin shows movies from South Korea

Jan Creutzenberg (RhusHeesen)

It is not too hard to watch some Korean movies in Germany these days. Some play in cinemas, more are sold on DVD. But while the major feature films are generally available, short films are harder to get a hold of.

The 23rd International Short Film Festival in Berlin, which took place last week, tried to close this gap: In collaboration with two film schools (Korean Academy of Film Arts and Korean National University of Arts), the Korean Film Council (a governmental organization for promoting Korea's film industry) and IndieStory (Korea's only distribution company dedicated to independent film), a special section dedicated to short films from South Korea was shown. From over 350 entries, four thematic programs were chosen, of which I saw two.

Everything has to be destroyed: Miscom...More

The Korean omnibus film 'Fantastic Parasuicides' has been invited to the 2008 Sydney International Film Festival in Australia.

Producer and distributor Indiestory said it was unusual for festival organizers to invite a film prior to officially announcing the festival program.

The Fantastic Parasuicides, which was also invited to the Pusan International Film Festival's Wide Angle category, is an omnibus film which consists of three short films that come together under the common theme "suicide". The three short films include 'Three People in the Dark' directed by Park Soo-yeong, 'Fly Chicken!' directed by Jo Chang-ho and 'Happy Birthday' directed...More

After screening in the Korean Cinema Today – Visions section of the 12th Pusan International Film Festival, "Who's That Knocking At My Door??" became one of the Korean highlights, receiving very positive mentions from both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, the two top US entertainment trade magazines. Premiering at the 8th Jeonju International Film Festival earlier this year, Knocking won the Audience Critics' Award which made it the recipient of the CJ-CGV Rele...More

Love in Asia and Europe

Expanding to feature four Asian and four European countries, this second annual showcase, focusing on the theme of romantic love, features films from Japan, France, Korea, Italy, China, Spain, India, and Germany. The medium of film provides a unique opportunity to view and compare cultures in Asia and Europe.

How is love portrayed in Asian and European film? How do couples relate to one another? What changes and differences are evident within cultures?
Over the course of two weeks, pairings of Asian and European short films, many of which won national and international awards, will screen on eight evenings, followed by discussions addressing the films' cultural contexts and topics. The closing evening will present a short film from each cou...More