With a Girl of Black Soil (Movie - 2007)

JEON Soo-il's Latest to Compete at San Sebastian

Source | 2009/09/01 | 0 comments | Permalink |

"I Came From Busan", the latest feature by indie auteur JEON Soo-il will screen in the Official Section competition of the 57th San Sebastian International Film Festival, running September 18 – 26 in northern Spain. It is one of 2 Asian features to compete in this year's festival, the other being Chinese director LU Chuan's "City of Life and Death".

JEON's previous films have fared well on the international festival circuit, with his 2007 feature "With a Girl of Black Soil" winning numerous prizes including at Venice, Pusan and Deauville. His 2009 release "Himalaya, Where the Wind Dwells" screened in competition at the Karlovy Vary Int'l Film Festival.

"I Came From Busan" is about a woman giving up her baby for adoption. JEON, born in 1959, completed his masters and doctorate degrees in Film Science at the University of Paris 7 in Paris, France. He is currently an associate professor in the Department of Theatre & Film of Kyungsung University and the president of Dongnyuk ...| More

Director Jeon Soo-il Talks About `Himalaya'

Source | 2009/06/17 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporters

Director Jeon Soo-il can be grouped among "the Kim Ki-duk clan" of artists who are better appreciated in the international film festival circuit than in local theaters.

His latest film "Himalaya, Where the Wind Dwells" is slated to compete in July _ when he turns 50 _ at the 44th Karlovivary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic. This means that all six of Jeon's features will have been invited to major cinema events.

But as much as the film, now showing in theaters, marked the comeback of "Old Boy" star Choi Min-sik, its press preview attracted a mad crowd of reporters (Some 20 people had turned up for his previous multiple award-winning "With a Girl of Black Soil").

The aforementioned Kim is known to provoke onscreen, and Jeon also does not hesitate to depict shocking characters that take performance art to an extreme degree and commit suicide on stage ("I Have the Right to Destroy Myself").

"I had Choi Min-sik in mind when ...| More

Choi Min-sik Escapes Oncreen to 'Himalaya'

Source | 2009/05/31 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Actor Choi Min-sik has returned to local screens to take the audience on a faraway journey to "Himalaya, Where the Wind Dwells", which opens in theaters June 11.

The actor is virtually synonymous with contemporary Korean cinema, with the so-called "first" domestic blockbuster "Shiri" (Swiri) (1998) to Im Kwon-taek's award-winning "Chihwaseon" ("Strokes of Fire", 2002) and Park Chan-wook's international breakthrough "Old Boy" (2003). He was also accused of upping guarantees for high-profile actors, though Kang Woo-suk later rescinded the statement and apologized.

The 47-year-old may have been absent from the silver screen for four years, but his presence remained strong ― in 2007, he showed off his theatrical streak in the play "Pillow Man" while last year the 14th Lyon Asian Film Festival held a retrospective on Choi.

"Expression (acting) itself is important, but the process of absorbing things before taking part in a project is vital. ...| More

Breathless and The Chaser win in Europe

Source | 2009/03/19 | 0 comments | Permalink |

YANG Ik-joon continued his victorious round along European film festivals. YANG's "Breathless" won four more awards over the weekend. Deauville Asian Film Festival awarded Breathless the Grand prix (best film) and the International critic's award.

At International Film Festival of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria it were the actors who took the honours for "Breathless" with a Best actor (YANG Ik-joon) and Best actress award KIM Kkob-bi).

NA Hong-jin's "The Chaser" is still not running out of breath, this time adding the Best action Asia film award from Deauville to its impressive tally. Deauville categorised The Chaser in the Action Asia section.

It is the second year in a row for a Korean film to sweep the top honours at Deauville; last year Deauville crowned JEON Soo-il's "With a Girl of Black Soil" with the Grand prix and the International Critic's award.

Korean films enjoy a high reputation at Deauville, winning numerous awards in various categories. Deauville's top award wen...| More

Korean Indie Film Wins at French Film Fest

Source | 2009/03/17 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

"Breathless" by director Yang Ik-joon won both the grand prize (Le Lotus du meilleur film) and the international critic's award at the 10th Deauville Asian Film Festival in France, which came to a close, Sunday. This is another feat in the international film circuit by the South Korean indie film, which recently won the top award at the 38th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

This is the second consecutive year the two coveted prizes went to a Korean movie at the esteemed event, following Jeon Soo-il's "With a Girl of Black Soil".

Numerous other local works appeared at the festival. Baek Seung-bin's "Members of the Funeral" competed in the competition section alongside "Breathless"; Na Hong-jin's hit film "The Chaser" and Kim Yoon-jin's big budget epic "The Divine Weapon" were shown in Action Asia; and Yoo Ha's controversial "A Frozen Flower" and Yoon Jong-bin's noir drama "The Moonlight of Seoul" were screened in the Panorama section.

The...| More