| Film journalists pick Song Kang-ho, Kim Hye-ja top actors (Source) |
2010/01/28 |
Poster for film "Thirst" [CJ Entertainment]
Song Kang-ho and Kim Hye-ja have been recognized last year's top film actors by Korean film journalists.
The Korea Film Reporters Association (KOFRA) held the 1st Korean Film Award on Wednesday, naming Song best actor for his role in film "Thirst" and Kim as best actress for her role in "Mother - 2009".
Song, 43, is considered one of Korea's most successful actors who has starred in a handful of hit films including "Memories of Murder", "The Host" and "Thirst", which won the Jury Prize at Cannes earlier last year.##
Kim, 68, is a veteran actress who has received more than a few appraisals for her performa... |More
|
|
| 'Mother - 2009' Named 2009 Film of the Yr (Source) |
2010/01/27 |
Director Bong Joon-ho's thriller "Mother - 2009" has been named the 2009 Film of the Year by the Korean film press.
In its inaugural award ceremony, the association of Korean film journalists chose "Mother" for Best Film and the film's heroine Kim Hye-ja as Best Actress.
Best Actor went to Song Gang-ho who starred in "Thirst", and the New Discovery award went to Yang Ik-jun, who directed "Breathless".
A meritorious honor was granted to the president of the film agency Achim (Morning), Jeong Seung-hye, who died last year, leaving behind her posthumous film "Living Death".
The film journalists' association, launched in February 2009, has 31 broadcasters and dailies as members. Fifty-four journalists took part in the vote to select the winners.
Reported by KBS WORLD Radio... |More
|
|
| Korea's 'Café Noir' Invited to Rotterdam Film Fest (Source) |
2010/01/27 |
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 competitive element with the VPRO Tiger Awards Competition.
Several Korean films have won Tigers, such as "The Day a Pig Fell Into the Well" by Hong Sang-soo in 1997, "Jealousy is My Name" by Park Chan-ok in 2003, and "Breathless" by Yang Ik-joon in 2009.
... |More
|
|
| Year of the thriller for Korean movies (Source) |
2010/01/12 |
Film insiders excited over new works by three star directors
Hits came from all quarters in Korean cinema last year, with big blockbusters "Take Off" and "Haeundae", auteur films "Thirst" and "Mother - 2009" and indie sleepers "Old Partner" and "Breathless" all filling seats.
Disaster flick "Haeundae" was the first locally made film to top 10 million tickets sold in three years. Industry-wide box office returns hit a record high of 1.08 trillion won ($964 million), about half from Korean-made films.
The state-funded Korean Film Council forecast in a recent report that the local movie market will continue its incremental growth over the next five years, and 2010 is expected to be another bonanza for the local film studios. But the most hotly anticipated movies inside the industry aren't quite as diverse as 2009's top sellers - on the contrary, they're all in a single genre: thriller.
Korea's thriller renaissance, kicked off by "The Chaser" in 2008 and continued by "Secret - ... |More
|
| |
| 'Fantasy of Korea Key to Drawing Global Audience' (Source) |
2010/01/11 |
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Korea doesn't seem to spark the imagination of North Americans, and this partly explains why Korean films are not popular there, observed an award-winning filmmaker.
Choi Dong-hoon, 39, director of the latest box-office hit "JEON WOO CHI : The Taoist Wizard", said that the lack of information about Korea makes it difficult for Korean filmmakers to be successful at the Western box office.
"North Americans know that Korea is part of Asia. Compared with Japan and China, however, Korea has little to appeal to the people there", Choi said in an interview with The Korea Times last Thursday at his office in southern Seoul.
By Monday, more than four million moviegoers had flocked to see his latest movie that deals with superhero Jeon Woo Chi. The critically acclaimed film, based on a Korean folktale, marked the third consecutive box-office hit produced by Choi.
Choi made his filmmaking debut in 2004 with "The Big Swindle", a thriller that drew ... |More
|
|
|
