SIFF Presents Online Screenings of Independent Films
Published on | Source
By Joon Soh
Staff Reporter
If you want to watch "Shrek 2", "Ino Kongju (My Mother the Mermaid)" or any other of the latest mainstream feature films, all you have to do is head down to the nearest multiplex or else wait a few months until they hit your neighborhood video store. Accessing independent films, however, isn't as easy, given that they may screen once or twice a year at a festival and that's if you're lucky.
In order to overcome this longstanding limitation of independent cinema, Seoul Independent Film Festival (SIFF) has decided to go virtual. From today through Oct. 24, the festival will present free online screenings of seven award-winning documentaries and short films from last year's festival.
The works will be made available through two Web sites - the festival's (www.siff.or.kr) and that of the Korean Film Archive (www.koreafilm.or.kr). Two films will be streamed at a time, meaning they can be watched through the site but not downloaded. Each film will be offered for a total of four weeks and will not have English subtitles.
Among the works is the winner of the grand prize, "Songhwan (Repatriation)", a documentary about former North Korean spies who were incarcerated by the South Korean government and later set free.
Other films include "Ppanggwa Uyu (Bread and Milk)" a 27-minute film about a railway worker who loses his job; "Il Hoson (Can I Love You?)", a short film about a romantic relationship between a woman and her married boss; "Wonderful Day", a mid-length work about two people in their 30s, and "Saramun Muosuro Sanunga (What Does Man Live For?)", a documentary about families trying to find out the truth regarding loved ones who died during the years of military dictatorship in South Korea.
The films will also show offline at the art theater Seoul Art Cinema from July 30 through Aug.1. For more information on screenings call (02) 362-9513 or go to www.siff.or.kr.
Staff Reporter
If you want to watch "Shrek 2", "Ino Kongju (My Mother the Mermaid)" or any other of the latest mainstream feature films, all you have to do is head down to the nearest multiplex or else wait a few months until they hit your neighborhood video store. Accessing independent films, however, isn't as easy, given that they may screen once or twice a year at a festival and that's if you're lucky.
In order to overcome this longstanding limitation of independent cinema, Seoul Independent Film Festival (SIFF) has decided to go virtual. From today through Oct. 24, the festival will present free online screenings of seven award-winning documentaries and short films from last year's festival.
The works will be made available through two Web sites - the festival's (www.siff.or.kr) and that of the Korean Film Archive (www.koreafilm.or.kr). Two films will be streamed at a time, meaning they can be watched through the site but not downloaded. Each film will be offered for a total of four weeks and will not have English subtitles.
Among the works is the winner of the grand prize, "Songhwan (Repatriation)", a documentary about former North Korean spies who were incarcerated by the South Korean government and later set free.
Other films include "Ppanggwa Uyu (Bread and Milk)" a 27-minute film about a railway worker who loses his job; "Il Hoson (Can I Love You?)", a short film about a romantic relationship between a woman and her married boss; "Wonderful Day", a mid-length work about two people in their 30s, and "Saramun Muosuro Sanunga (What Does Man Live For?)", a documentary about families trying to find out the truth regarding loved ones who died during the years of military dictatorship in South Korea.
The films will also show offline at the art theater Seoul Art Cinema from July 30 through Aug.1. For more information on screenings call (02) 362-9513 or go to www.siff.or.kr.
Advertisement