The Pucheon International Fantastic Film Festival(PiFan) edition of KOFIC's quarterly Korean Cinema Today magazine, has just been published. With the title 'Expand the Market Expand the Views' this edition focuses on international co productions and international Korean film business.
The title article in particular looks at successful co production and cinematic international changes with the Asia region. In terms of investment, Ellen KIM details issues of co production financing in Investment and Production Environment of Korean Films. As a particular case study, in Working ...
MoreNorth America's largest genre film fest, the Fantasia International Film Festival boasts an impressive line-up of notable Korean films this year; among them the North American premiere of
Park Chan-wook's Cannes-winning vampire drama,
"Thirst". Held annually in Montreal, Canada, the event will run from July 9 – 29 at several theaters in the city.
Along with PARK's latest is "
Crush and Blush", a film he produced for debut director ...
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Director
kwak Jae-Yong urges viewers not to compare his Japanese movie "
Cyborg She" to his previous production "
My Sassy Girl". But the latter comes to mind when watching "
Cyborg She". The robot-girlfriend in the film, played by Japanese star
Haruka Ayase, is like an updated version of the "sassy girl", who was played by
Jeon Ji-hyeon. This bizarre character seems to have no limits when it comes to eccentricity.
Jirou, played by
Keisuke Koide, resembles the innocent boy who was played by
Cha Tae-hyeon in "...
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By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
Director
kwak Jae-Yong has been giving less than stellar performances ever since the South Korean megahit "
My Sassy Girl" (2001) and the mellow romance
"The Classic" (2003) ― and he makes an effort to redeem himself, rather fruitlessly, in "
Cyborg She".
The Korea-Japan joint production nevertheless held a top spot in the Japanese box office for five weeks and sold over 110,000 DVDs. The movie translates into real action akin to Japanese sci-fi anime, and is not without its charms, particularly with some striking visuals and top stars
Haruka Ayase and
Keisuke Koide giving endearing performances.
But this reporter ― having loved Kwak's "Sassy" and ...
MoreThe 12th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan) came to a close Sunday Jul. 27 after a thrilling 10-day run. This year's fest brought 1978 official guests to the city of Bucheon, a record number for PiFan, helped along by the addition of its first project market called Network of Asian Fantastic Films (NAFF2008).
PiFan's always exciting official competition section saw 12 high quality films vying for cash prizes, with top honors this year going to a stand-out Korean film that has already shaken up local audiences and won a slew of awards. Sleeper hit The Chaser, directed by
Na Hong-jin in his feature debut, captured the "Best of Puchon" prize along with two more awards, making it the night's big winner.
The festival's international jury also handed
"The Chaser" a Best Actress prize for
Seo Yeong-hee, who played a prostitute brutalized by a deranged serial killer. Another special jury from the European Federation of Fantastic Film Festivals (EFFFF) named The Chaser recipient of its Asian Award. EFFFF also gave special mentions to
Lim Pil-seong's fairy-tale horror "
Hansel and Gretel" and Yoshihiro Nishimura's Tokyo Gore Police.
The Best Director prize went to Swedish art house vampire film, Let the Right One In, by...
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