The 2 top-grossing Korean films of 2008 thus far have both been invited to the 41st Sitges International Film Festival in Catalonia, Spain.
Kim Ji-woon's kimchi-western "
The Good, the Bad, the Weird", and
Na Hong-jin's debut thriller
"The Chaser" will both screen in the fest's main program, 'Official Fantastic Selection'.
Sitges, which this year runs October 2 – 12, is a primary member of the European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation and one of the top 3 fantasy fests worldwide. The two Korean hits will compete for various Maria awards. They will be joined by director
Bong Joon-ho's first non-Korean production, "
TOKYO!", an omnibus film also featuring French directors
Leos Carax and
Michel Gondry, which screens in the same section.
NA's
"The Chaser" recently won Best Film at the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival in Korea. The tough crime-thriller, about an ex-cop-turned pimp chasing down an elusive prostitute killer, was a sleeper hit taking in over 5 million admissions during its local release earlier this year.
KIM's "
The Good, the Bad, the Weird" is the year's box office champion so far with over 4 million admissions in just its first two weeks of release. The film revolving around a treasure map, stars Korea's top male leads,
Song Kang-ho,
Lee Byeong-Heon, and
Jeong Woo-seong,and is set in Manchuria during the Japanese colonial period.
KIM has been to Sitges twice in the past to present his previous films "
A Bittersweet Life" and "
A Tale of Two Sisters". BONG received the Orient Express award at Sitges in 2006 for his monster hit
"The Host".
Nigel D'Sa (KOFIC)
