Wednesday, October 3, 2012

KCN: BIFF Gets Ready to Take Offf (09/27-10/03, 2012)

KOREAN CINEMA NEWS

Vancouver and London Pay Attention to Korean Queer Film
White Night directed by Leesong Hee-il, who once caught attention with No Regret, has been invited to the Vancouver International Film Festival and the London Korean Film Festival. 6 years after he proved the possibility of Korean style queer film with No Regret, he made a new film White Night, which will be screened at the Dragons and Tigers section of the 13th Vancouver Film Festival (September 27th ~ October 2nd) and the 7th London Korean Film Festival (November 2nd ~ 23rd). (KoBiz, October 2, 2012)

7-day Festival of Documentaries Closes its Curtain
The 4th DMZ Korean International Documentary Film Festival (DMZ Docs) finished the 7 days of journey on September 4th. At the closing ceremony the director Cho Jae-hyun said, “1 week has passed and the last moment has come. So many great films filled out line-up. Thank you all the attendees for coming.” (KoBiz, October 2, 2012)

26 Years, Controversial Korean Film, Gets A Crowdfunding Boost
After being turned down by many investors over the last four years, South Korean film producer Choi Yong-bae said it feels strange and exciting that his revenge film about a notorious South Korean president blamed for the massacre of democracy protesters is finally coming to life through online donations. (The Huffington Post, October 1, 2012)

Kathmandu Korean Film Fest From Oct 1
Giving continuity to its annual tradition, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea this year is also bringing forth selected Korean films for ardent Nepali fans of Korean movies. And this gala of Korean films — the 8th Korean Film Festival — will begin from October 1 at the Russian Centre of Science and Culture, Kamalpokhari. (The Himalayan, September 30, 2012)

South Korean Movie Star Shines in L.A.
Byung-hun Lee leaves his mark in cement in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre earlier this year and recently was in L.A. to attend the premiere of his latest film, Masquerade, which is a big success back home. (The Los Angeles Times, September 29, 2012)

Korean Documentaries at the BIFF
During the 17th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), Korea’s representative documentary directors are going to release new films. Tour of Duty, Wellang Trei and Forest Dancing will be world premiered at the Wide Angle documentary competition section. Tour of Duty is a film about the memory at the village near the US military camp in Northern Gyeonggi province. Wellang Trei, deals with the life of general Cambodian public represented by that of a rich farming family, the Trei. Forest Dancing portrays the cheerful protest of villagers at Seongmisan to protect the symbol of the community. (KoBiz, September 28, 2012)

German Film Wins Top Prize at Pyongyang Film Fest
A German film about an English teacher's struggle to introduce soccer at a strict school in late 19th century Germany has won the grand prize at the Pyongyang International Film Festival. (AP, September 28, 2012)

Korean Movies Invade Philippines Via Film Fest
Now on its fourth year in the Philippines, the ongoing Korean Film Festival brings seven contemporary Korean films to Filipino audiences across the archipelago. Among the showcased films this year is the horror-comedy flick Spellbound, which tells the story of a magician who falls in love with his assistant. The magician later learns his lady love is haunted by ghosts. (abs-cbnnews.com, September 28, 2012)

Tickets For the Opening Film Sold Out in 1 Minute 34 Seconds
Tickets for the opening film of the 17th Busan International Film Festival sold out in one minute 34 seconds. The organizing committee of BIFF announced that tickets for the opening film Cold War that went on sale from 5pm on the 24th September on the reservation website sold out in one minute 34 seconds and that tickets for the closing ceremony Television sold out in three minutes 31 seconds. This year’s record is no where as near as last year’s seven seconds for the opening film, but it still confirms the ever-increasing popularity of BIFF. (KoBiz, September 27, 2012)

Indonesia, South Korea Want to Boost Film Cooperation
Indonesia and South Korea are currently exploring the possibility of cooperating in the film industry. “We are looking at the possibility of cooperating with South Korea on expanding animation, interactive games, music, arts demonstration and films,” said Indonesia’s Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Mari Elka Pangestu, as quoted by Antara news agency on Thursday. (bikyamasr, September 27, 2012)

Maniac of Documentaries and Independent Films
Kim Ki-duk, the famous director of Pieta is well known for his great interest in DMZ Korean International Documentary Festival. He is also a maniac of documentaries and independent movies. For this reason, he had unofficially attended DMZ Korean International Documentary Festival every year. (KoBiz, September 27, 2012)

Korean Film Comes to Brisbane!
This September 27-30th, the Korean Film Festival arrives in Brisbane for the first time ever, bringing the best of the best Korean films of today and the yesteryear. The festival will be held at the legendary, iconic Tribal Theatre in the heart of Brisbane and will allow Queenslanders to discover their connection to Korean cinema and culture. Korean culture is rapidly gaining popularity in the Sunshine state as the number of restaurants grow, and more Koreans are choosing Queensland as their next holiday destination. (KCCAU, September 27, 2012)

Kim Thanks Pieta's Half a Million Viewers, Which Will Finish Being Screened as of October 3rd
Kim Ki-duk expressed gratitude to the audiences when the accumulation of viewers exceeded half a million on September 24th. Then he said he wants to have his film screened until October 3rd so that other small films can have chances to be screened. In the ‘letter of gratitude to those who have watched Pieta’ he sent to the publication agency, he said, “The number of viewers of my humble film Pieta has exceeded half a million during the weekend. Half a thousand is worth 5 million to me.” (KoBiz, September 26, 2012)


TRAILER

Perfect Number (English Subs)



BOX OFFICE


(Modern Korean Cinema, October 1, 2012)


Korean Cinema News is a weekly feature which provides wide-ranging news coverage on Korean cinema, including but not limited to: features; festival news; interviews; industry news; trailers; posters; and box office. It appears every Wednesday morning (Korean Standard Time) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update and the Weekly Korean ReviewsReviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

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1 comment:

  1. This is amazing. Korean films have gone worldwide. Thanks for this.

    ReplyDelete