Christmas in August (Movie - 1998)

Heo Jin-ho Boards Chinese Omnibus Film

Source | 2008/12/31 | Permalink |

South Korean auteur Heo Jin-ho will direct a segment in the Chinese feature "Chengdu I Love You", along with Hong Kong director Fruit Chan and China's Cui Jian. The project was inspired by the resilience of the city and its inhabitants in the aftermath of the major earthquake which struck Sichuan province and its epicenter Chengdu on May 12, 2008.

Heo, Chan and Cui will each direct a themed 30-minute segment. Heo, known in China for his moving melodramas, "Christmas in August" and "April Snow", will handle the segment on love, while Chan takes on family life, and Cui friendship.

The three directors visited Chengdu for five days last December and are currently writing scripts based on their observations. The project, produced by Chen Weiming, expects to begin shooting this April.

Heo, who was impressed by the Sichuan people's hope and resilience, told the Chinese media, "The May 12 earthquake broke many hearts in South Korea, too, and it is the reason I joined this projec...| More

Korean Film Festival Tours China

Source | 2008/11/19 | Permalink |

A Korean Film Festival will be held across China this month, bringing 12 Korean features to three major Chinese cities – Beijing (Nov. 14-19), Shanghai (Nov. 16-21) and Kunnming (Nov. 25-28).

The event, organized by the Korean Film Council, China's state film authorities, and the Shanghai International Film Festival, brings a mix of critically and commercially successful Korean hits to local Chinese audiences.

Opening the festival is director LEE Joon-ik's rock-redemption comedy "The Happy Life" (2007). LEE Chang-dong's "Secret Sunshine", which has won numerous awards including Best Picture at the 2007 Asia-Pacific Screen Awards and Best Actress at Cannes (for JEON Do-yeon) will also screen.

Other films in the touring festival include JEONG Yoon-cheol's "A Man Who Was a Superman", JANG Yoon-hyeon's "Hwangjin-y - Movie - 2007", HEO Jin-ho's "Christmas in August" and IM Kwon-taek's "Beyond the Years".

Actor, JEONG Kyeong-ho will attend the Shanghai leg of the tour, repr...| More

KOFIC, Korea-China Interchange to Revitalize Two Industries

Source | 2008/11/12 | Permalink |

KOFIC (chairperson KANG Han-sup) is commencing two events in order to revitalize the film interchange between Korea and China.

First of the two events is '2008 Korea-China Business Campus' which will take place from Thursday, November 13 to Monday, November 17, over the course of 5 days. The event will mainly focus on the process of sharing films as well as co-production opportunities. This event first took place in 2006 in China, and then moved to Pusan International Film Festival in 2007 as a forum format, thus making this year's event second edition to be held in Korea. First annual event focused on the effect of Korean manpower and resources in Chinese film industry, while the current Business Campus will concentrate on not only the further advancements of above but how Korea and China can collaborate on projects that promote exchange of resources between the two countries. The event will hold pitching/mentoring sessions, seminars, business meetings for producers, production/po...| More

HONG Sang-soo, NA Hong-jin, and HEO Jin-ho films at Taiwan fest

Source | 2008/11/04 | Permalink |

Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival selected HONG Sang-soo's "Night and Day", NA Hong-jin's "The Chaser", and HEO Jin-ho's "Happiness", according to the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF).

"Night and Day" and Happiness will screen in the Gala presentation section, while "The Chaser" will feature in the Midnight people section.

This year's release "Night and Day" has already traveled to multiple international film festivals, quintessential of HONG Sang-soo films. The story about an artist who fled to Paris to avoid arrest over smoking marijuana, played at Jeonju International Film Festival, Buenos Aires Film Festival, and Berlin International Film Festival.

"Happiness" stars IM Soo-jeong and HWANG Jeong-min as two seriously ill people who meet and fall in love in a hospital. Director HEO is best known for his widely praised "Christmas in August".

"The Chaser" is a low-budget thriller which became a sleeper hit, in the process, turning the character actors KIM Yoon-se...| More

'One Fine Spring Day' [DVD Review] Directed by Heo Jin-ho (2007)

Source | 2008/01/13 | Permalink |

Howard Schumann (howard16)

Although Alfred Lord Tennyson said, "Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all", anyone who has endured the breakup of an intense relationship would not necessarily agree. Certainly not Lee Sang-woo (Yoo Ji-tae), the young sound engineer from Seoul, South Korea, in Heo Jin-ho's exquisite second feature "One Fine Spring Day" (literally "Spring Day Goes").

In this film of quiet power, two young people meet, fall in love, then gradually pull back and withdraw, but the film is not about their circumstances, it's about the impermanence of life and how we must learn to ride the roller coaster. Like Heo's 1998 film "Christmas in August ", it is a realistic and intimate work, filled with a touching lyricism that never succumbs to manipulative devices.

Working to record sounds of nature for a radio station, Sang-woo and radio disc jockey Han Eun-su (Lee Young-ae) meet at a bus station in a most unusual way. Unable to wake her from a b...| More