Stateless Things and The Day He Arrives continue fest rounds

By KOFIC

Up-and-coming Korean director Kim Kyung-mook's "Stateless Things" has been invited to the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF), which starts today in Canada to run until Oct. 14. Kim's independent film is in the Dragons and Tigers competition.

"Stateless Things" has also been invited to the upcoming 55th BFI London Film Festival's World Cinema section, along with Hong Sang-soo's "The Day He Arrives". The London Film Festival (LFF) will run Oct. 12 – 27 this year.

"Stateless Things" made its world premiere in the 68th Venice Film Festival's Orrizonti competition which wrapped earlier this month. The film was a recipient of KOFIC's Independent Film Production Support fund and also of its Diversity Film Distribution Support program.

The film follows the lives of two young men in Seoul – one a kept man to a married but separated businessman, and the other an ethnic Korean who is taken advantage of as an illegal immigrant.

Kim's mid-length feature debut "Faceless Things" was also in the Vancouver film festival's Dragons and Tigers section in 2006 where it received a special mention at the time. The film screened in the International Film Festival Rotterdam as did Kim's other mid-length film "A Cheonggyecheon Dog" (2008) and his short film "Sex/Less" (2009).

Hong Sang-soo's "The Day He Arrives", which is on its way to the BFI London Film Festival, made its world premiere in the Cannes film festival's Un Certain Regard section earlier this year. The film will also be screening in the upcoming 16th Busan International Film Festival's Korean Cinema Today – Panorama section.