Let the Blue River Run (Movie - 2008)

Seoul Independent Film Festival 2008 to Open

Source | 2008/12/09 | 0 comments | Permalink |

The Seoul Independent Film Festival 2008 will be held from December 11 through 19 at various theaters in Seoul. Having established in 1975, the 34-year-old film festival has fulfilled its mission of promoting the status of independent films in Korea. This year's slogan "Storm of Imagination" represents the role of independent films in today's society as a social critique and innovator.

This year's opening film will be "Let the Blue River Run", a story about two teenagers and their families in Yeonbyeon, China, near the North Korean border. The competition for full-length feature films will include award-winning "Land of Scarecrows", "A Camel Doesn't Leave Desert", "Exhausted", and "How to Live on Earth". The short film category boasts a crowded field this year with 28 entries, including "Seven Superheroes vs. Monster F" and "3PM, One Spring Day".

The festival will also show some noted films from abroad. Documentaries "The Deported" by Mahbub Alam and "LEE KYUNG-HAE" by Daniel Tro...| More

Imaginative independent films come to Seoul

Source | 2008/11/27 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Under the slogan "Storm of imagination", the 34th Seoul Independent Film Festival (SIFF) will showcase a variety of independent cinema with a focus on Korean independent films. The festival will be hosted at IndieSpace film house in central Seoul from December 11 to the 19th.

The Korean-Chinese film "Let the Blue River Run" will open the festival. KANG Mi-ja's film portrays Koreans living in China. The two protagonists are a high school couple who make a pledge at the Dooman River to stay faithful and positive, but their relationship will face many trials.

The competition section includes awarded films like the short film "Stop" by PARK Jae-ok (Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival's Audience award, Festival de Cannes Cinéfondation's third prize), and NOH Kyeong-tae's "Land of the Scarecrows" (13th Pusan International Film Festival's New Currents winner).

Seoul Independent Film Festival winners will be screened as closing films. Seoul Independent Film Festival is co-hosted by t...| More

[TALK OF THE TOWN] Kang's 'Let the Blue River Run' to open Seoul's 34th indie film festival

Source | 2008/11/25 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Fans of independent films should be feeling the anticipation, as the 34th Seoul Independent Film Festival is just around the corner.

The event will take place from Dec. 11 to 19 at Indie Space, an independent film house in Samil-ro, central Seoul.

The festival is presented by the Association of Korean Independent Film and Video and the Korean Film Council. It features 51 independent films, including 40 shorts and 11 features.

The opening movie is director Kang Mi-ja's "Let the Blue River Run", a story of two young students of Korean descent living in Guilin, China. The lovers take a boat across the Duman River to escape to South Korea.

The film that wins top honors at the festival will close out the event.

For information, call (02) 362-9513 or visit http://www.siff.or.kr ...| More

Korean World Premieres at PIFF 2008

Source | 2008/09/30 | 0 comments | Permalink |

The Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) is putting its weight behind local films this year, and, under the catch-phrase 'Way to Go, Korea!' will host the World Premier of 15 Korean features. Headlining is closing film "I am Happy" by YOON Jong-chan, a psychiatric drama based on a novel by Korean literary giant, the late LEE Chong-jun. The fest runs Oct 2 – 10 in the south-eastern port city of Busan.

PIFF's competition section, New Currents, will see the World Premieres of 3 Korean features. "Land of Scarecrows" is the sophomore effort by NOH Kyeong-tae ("The Last Dining Table"), a poetical cross-section of the lives of Korea's outsiders in pursuit of vanishing dreams. "Members of the Funeral" by BAEK Seung-bin is an HD feature about a family mourning the passing of relative and the memories it triggers, while KIM Tae-gon's "The Pot" focuses on the uncanny happenings surrounding a small family in their new apartment.

In the Korean Cinema Today – Panorama section are sev...| More

Must-See Movies at 13th Pusan Film Festival

Source | 2008/09/28 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

The 13th Pusan (Busan) International Film Festival (PIFF) ― South Korea's most reputable and Asia's largest cinema event ― will take place in the southern port city Oct. 2-10. "The Gift to Stalin" from Kazakhstan opens the festival while "I Am Happy" by Yoon Jong-chan will wrap up the event.

This year's edition features the biggest ever lineup of 315 films from 60 countries. They will be shown across 37 screens in six venues, and to facilitate festival-goers, multiplex theaters will screen works according to theme: Korean films will mostly be shown at Primus Theater; World cinema at Lotte Cinema; and Asian films at Megabox, etc.

Still, the large selection makes choosing films not that easy, and so to ease the pain the four PIFF programmers have come up with two lists of recommended works: One for cinephiles and another for regular viewers:

For Movie Maniacs

Kim Ji-seok: "Confessional" (R. Antipuesto & J. Tarog, Philippines, 200...| More