The 11th Gay and Lesbian Film Festival Opens in Seoul

After the initial festival was closed down by police in 1997, the Seoul Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Film Festival (SELFF) celebrated more than 10 years of existence opening on Wednesday the 3rd of June. However, the festival which was then deemed as 'objectionable' by authorities has still faced unabated challenges. This year, due to the financial crisis its already meager budget has been severely cut back. Despite this, organizers at the opening party in a cozy bar in Seoul's Jongno district emphasized the quality of the relatively small numbers of films on show.

Even with diminished funds, the festival has been able to secure films from all over the globe including Japan, Germany, Taiwan, the U.S., Spain, France, Thailand, Norway, Mexico, Australia and Israel. It also includes a number of Korean premieres. Highlights include documentary Lesbian Jeonchidojeongi ("The Era of Lesbian Political Challenge") about open lesbian Choi Hyeon-sook who last year unsuccessfully campaigned for congress. "Two Way To Love", another premiere is a Korean social realist feature about a woman who works at a hostess bar to raise funds for her autistic brother. Also in the festival is Korean short film "Boy Meets Boy" directed by Peter Kim (Kim Jho Kwang-soo), producer of gay indy hit "No Regret" (2006). Also of note is documentary Seoul to Soul profiling the journey of a Korean boy adopted to Mormon parents in the U.S. While doing missionary work in Japan he realizes his own hypocrisy and then moves back to the states to a decadent lifestyle. Highlighting the current issues of gay marriage in the U.S., "Between Love and Goodbye" focuses on two male partners (French and American) who undergo a bogus marriage with a lesbian to gain a green card.

Despite milestones reached both in longevity and quality of films, cut backs have had their consequences. Notably, the Korean films on offer do not have English subtitles. The festival runs to the Sunday the 7th of June.