New Film Fest Hits Seoul's Silver Screens
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Set in the heart of the city, the 9-day festival is attracting film buffs with 28 features, shorts
Robert Joe (internews)
The 1st Jongno Film Festival (JNFF), running from Nov. 17 to Nov. 25, invites viewers to watch contemporary cinema in the historical Jongno area of Seoul. Set in the heart of the city, the festival hopes to lure film lovers with 28 shorts and features. "This Charming Girl", the winner of the New Currents Award at this year's Pusan International Film Festival kicks things off.
The other screenings are split into five categories. The first, titled Miss You, Previews, offers viewers a sneak peek at films that have yet to be released in Korea. Those who missed Mira Nair's sumptuous "Vanity Fair" during the Neuropean Film Festival last month, can check it out along with Bernardo Bertolucci's latest exploration of sexuality, "The Dreamers".
Missed It, Let's Watch It Again gives outstanding films from years past another run on the big screen. Gus van Sant's meditative cinema verite piece, "Elephant", and Pedro Almodovar's sweetly aching, "Talk to Her", are among the offerings.
Talk of the International Film Festivals compiles prize-winning films from the festival circuit. Standouts include the hyper-kinetic Brazilian hit, "City of God", and "Clean", which won Maggie Cheung the Cannes 2004 "Best Actress" award.
Maggie Cheung fans, night owls and director Wong Kar-wai devotees will be sure to line up for the Midnight Special section of the festival. On Nov. 19 and Nov. 20 there will be midnight screenings of the semi-trilogy, "Days of Being Wild", "In the Mood for Love" and "2046". The Hong Kong actress appears in all three films.
Korean film supporters won't want to miss the Omnibus Express. The category includes mostly rare and unreleased short films by up-and-coming talent. The "20 project" for instance, brings graduates of the Korean Film Academy together in a 20-film tag-team effort to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Fans of Jang Jun Hwan's critically acclaimed "Save the Green Planet" with Shin Ha Kyun ("My Brother", "JSA") won't want to miss his short in the "Daum Internet Search" mini-program.
Ticket prices are 7,000 won for the opening night, 12,000 won for the midnight screenings, and 5,000 for general films. There's also a discount rate of 9,000 won for three screenings. Select screenings have English subtitles. For a full schedule and more information, call 2285-2096 (English available) or look on the Web at www.jnff.co.kr (Korean only).
And the Show Goes On...
Cinephiles in Korea might suffer from overload the next few days. From Nov. 17-21, Resfest brings its eighth incarnation to Yonsei University's Centennial Hall for the Seoul leg of its 33-city tour.
The film festival is part digital art installation, part digital cinema showcase, offering the best in music videos and experimental shorts, as well as narrative shorts, features, and documentaries.
Another part of the program is several afternoon seminars for those who have an interest in digital filmmaking and video art. Consult the Web site for more information: www.resfest.com. / Robert Joe
Robert Joe (internews)
The 1st Jongno Film Festival (JNFF), running from Nov. 17 to Nov. 25, invites viewers to watch contemporary cinema in the historical Jongno area of Seoul. Set in the heart of the city, the festival hopes to lure film lovers with 28 shorts and features. "This Charming Girl", the winner of the New Currents Award at this year's Pusan International Film Festival kicks things off.
The other screenings are split into five categories. The first, titled Miss You, Previews, offers viewers a sneak peek at films that have yet to be released in Korea. Those who missed Mira Nair's sumptuous "Vanity Fair" during the Neuropean Film Festival last month, can check it out along with Bernardo Bertolucci's latest exploration of sexuality, "The Dreamers".
Missed It, Let's Watch It Again gives outstanding films from years past another run on the big screen. Gus van Sant's meditative cinema verite piece, "Elephant", and Pedro Almodovar's sweetly aching, "Talk to Her", are among the offerings.
Talk of the International Film Festivals compiles prize-winning films from the festival circuit. Standouts include the hyper-kinetic Brazilian hit, "City of God", and "Clean", which won Maggie Cheung the Cannes 2004 "Best Actress" award.
Maggie Cheung fans, night owls and director Wong Kar-wai devotees will be sure to line up for the Midnight Special section of the festival. On Nov. 19 and Nov. 20 there will be midnight screenings of the semi-trilogy, "Days of Being Wild", "In the Mood for Love" and "2046". The Hong Kong actress appears in all three films.
Korean film supporters won't want to miss the Omnibus Express. The category includes mostly rare and unreleased short films by up-and-coming talent. The "20 project" for instance, brings graduates of the Korean Film Academy together in a 20-film tag-team effort to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Fans of Jang Jun Hwan's critically acclaimed "Save the Green Planet" with Shin Ha Kyun ("My Brother", "JSA") won't want to miss his short in the "Daum Internet Search" mini-program.
Ticket prices are 7,000 won for the opening night, 12,000 won for the midnight screenings, and 5,000 for general films. There's also a discount rate of 9,000 won for three screenings. Select screenings have English subtitles. For a full schedule and more information, call 2285-2096 (English available) or look on the Web at www.jnff.co.kr (Korean only).
And the Show Goes On...
Cinephiles in Korea might suffer from overload the next few days. From Nov. 17-21, Resfest brings its eighth incarnation to Yonsei University's Centennial Hall for the Seoul leg of its 33-city tour.
The film festival is part digital art installation, part digital cinema showcase, offering the best in music videos and experimental shorts, as well as narrative shorts, features, and documentaries.
Another part of the program is several afternoon seminars for those who have an interest in digital filmmaking and video art. Consult the Web site for more information: www.resfest.com. / Robert Joe
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