Zhang Lu (장률 (張律))

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

The past year was a fruitful one for local independent cinema, with Lee Chung-ryoul's documentary "Old Partner" rewriting box office history for the genre and Yang Ik-joon's "Breathless" blazing through international film festivals. The festivity culminates with the Seoul Independent Film Festival (SIFF), which continues through Friday in Spongehouse Myeongdong (Joongang Cinema).

The annual year-end event kicked off on Dec. 11 under the theme "Hit and Run". This year SIFF received a whopping record of 722 submissions, up about 100 from last year. A total of 45 works (34 shorts, 11 features) have been selected to compete for several cash prizes. The awards, including the grand prize, amount to 51 million won and will be g...More

On Nov. 11, 1977, a massive explosion ripped through the railyard at Iri Station in North Jeolla, a major junction for trains heading up and down the west coast of the peninsula.

It was an accident. Dynamite being carried on a train from Incheon south to Gwangju somehow caught on fire. Fifty-seven people were killed.

Chinese director Zhang Lu's "Iri" is set during the 30th anniversary of the catastrophe, and in Jin-seo's (Yoon Jin-seo) 30th year.

She and her brother are live-in caretakers at an old folks' home...More

The 11th Wisconsin Film Festival, held annually at the University of Wisconsin in the U.S., presents a 'Focus on South Korea' for its 2009 edition running April 2 – 5. Five critically acclaimed Korean features will screen during the event along with one Canadian-Korean short film.

Indie favorite "Daytime Drinking" by Noh Young-seok will screen, continuing its tour of international festi...More

One of Korea's top three annual cinema events, the Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF), is celebrating its tenth edition this month. Running April 30 – May 9, JIFF will screen 200 films from 42 countries. Among them are 12 feature film World Premieres mainly from the Korean Feature Competition section.

JIFF will showcase films at 14 venues around Jeonju city in Jeollabuk Province, with its opening film "Short! Short! Short! 2009" featuring shorts by 10 of Korea's leading young filmmakers representing Chungmuro and the independent film scene. The JIFF 2009 Jeonju Digital Project this year presents three shorts by acclaimed directors Hong Sang-soo of Korea, KAWASI Naomi of Japan and Lav DIAZ of the Philippines.

JIFF's Korean Discovery section will showcase the features and shorts of indie-pioneer filmmaker HONG Ki-se...More

The 10th Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF), one of Korea's three major cinema showcases along with PIFF and PiFan, has revealed a selection of 11 new films for its Korean Feature Competition section that will vie for the JJ Star Award for top film, a cash award of 10 million Won.

Among the films selected are director Sin Dong-il's third feature, "Bandhobi", which tells about the relationship between a Bangladeshi laborer and a Korean high school girl. SIN debuted with the award-winning "Host and Guest" (2005) and followed it up with the critical...More