London audiences have been spoiled with some great films in the recent festivals, from the latest blockbusters to indie debut features. Both LEAFF and LKFF included in their programme a debut feature by a female director, focusing on mother-daughter relationships and headlining actors who have not had much screentime in the mainstream. LEAFF’s selection was … [Read More]
Category: London Korean Film Festival
Yun Choi: Running at the Speed of Light, the Body Becomes a Turtle
LUX is delighted to present the first UK solo exhibition by South Korean artist Yun Choi in partnership with the London Korean Film Festival. Yun Choi collects images, words and behaviours marked by South Korean banality and remixes them for her videos and multimedia installations. Through the fantastical embodiment of vernacular culture, her practice activates a … [Read More]
London Korean Film Festival 2022: the detailed schedule
Here’s your at-a-glance no-clicks-required version of the detailed schedule for this year’s London Korean Film Festival: Time Title Strand RSC = Regent Street Cinema | ICA = Institute of Contemporary Arts | PHC = Picturehouse Central | GC = Garden Cinema | CL = Ciné Lumière | Gen = Genesis Cinema | Rio = Rio … [Read More]
London Korean Film Festival 2022 programme announcement
Here’s the main press release announcing the LKFF’s 2022 programme. We’ll be posting the detailed schedule in due course, but tickets are already on sale via the festival website. London Korean Film Festival announces its 2022 programme Special Presentation of Kore-eda Hirokazu’s Award Winning BROKER Critically Acclaimed RETURN TO SEOUL Closing Film: KIM Han-min’s HANSAN: … [Read More]
Alienoid to open LKFF 2022
It’s nice to hear some early news of what to expect at the London Korean Film Festival this year. On Thursday the KCCUK announced details of the opening film. It’s one that people have been wanting to see for a while: the sci-fi fantasy genre-bender Alienoid (외계+인 1부) by master of the ensemble cast Choi … [Read More]
A look back at some of the movies in the 2021 London Korean Film Festival
One month after the close of LKFF we’re finally getting around to penning some thoughts on the movies we saw there. We’ve already commented on Im Sang-soo’s latest, which left us with very warm feelings about the festival as a whole. What about the rest of the programme? Let’s get this out of the way … [Read More]
Festival Film Review: Heaven – To the Land of Happiness
In recent years the LKFF programmers have been getting into a groove of scheduling indie, minority interest movies for the closing film of the festival. This year, they turned things upside down by programming the festival’s most appealing film (for me, at least,) to end the fortnight. Yes, the opening movie, Mogadishu, is the top … [Read More]
A look at the closing movies from recent LKFFs
As I left the cinema after Friday’s closing movie of the 2021 London Korean Film Fest, somewhat on a high because it was such a good film and Q+A, I observed to a friend I happened to bump into: “That was the best closing gala for years!” As I said that, the most recent decent … [Read More]
Ellie Kyungran Heo: Plantarians
Scheduled as the artist video strand of the London Korean Film Festival, this exhibition runs until December. Shame that the related lecture and artistic exploration on 20 November clashes both with Bongsu Park’s long-awaited dream auction and the Kimjang festival in New Malden, but it’s nice that the show is on for a while. In … [Read More]
London Korean Film Festival 2021 announces its line-up
Here’s the official press release for the 2021 London Korean Film Festival. You can find the detailed schedule in a separate post. London Korean Film Festival 2021 4 November – 19 November 2021 After a mostly digital edition in 2020 the London Korean Film Festival (LKFF) is pleased to be returning to cinema screens across … [Read More]
London Korean Film Festival 2021: the detailed schedule
Here’s the detailed schedule for the 2021 London Korean Film Festival. Lots to look forward to here. You can find the official press release here. Time Title Strand RSC = Regent Street Cinema | ICA = Institute of Contemporary Arts | PHC = Picturehouse Central | CIA = Cinema in the Arches | ESG = … [Read More]
A review of the Korean cultural year 2020
It would be an understatement to say that the cultural year 2020 has been markedly different from previous years. The pandemic has had a huge impact on the cultural scene, with most live events cancelled and event promoters falling back on the internet to provide us with our cultural fixes. Some of these attempts have … [Read More]
Review: Hong Sang-soo – The Woman who Ran
The time was right. Not having seen a Hong Sang-soo film for a few years – and he himself has had an unusual two-year break since his last one – I was perhaps ready to reacquaint myself with his work. It was a cold misty winter’s afternoon. I had just taken a rare day off … [Read More]
London Korean Film Festival 2020 – the detailed screening list
Update: the festival organisers have responded to the second Covid lockdown by pushing two of the theatrical screenings into December: Lee Joon-ik: The Happy Life, Fri 4 Dec, 6:10pm, Genesis Cinema Lee Hae Jun, Kim Byung Seo: Ashfall, Sun 6 Dec, 6pm, Genesis Cinema Here’s the detailed list of screenings in the 2020 London Korean … [Read More]
LKFF 2020 announces its line-up
This is now the 15th edition of the festival organised by KCCUK. As is to be expected, this year is somewhat different, with many of the screenings taking place online. There’s plenty to enjoy in the programme. We’re particularly looking forward to Mark Morris’s selection of Mudang films. Here’s the official press release; we’ll be … [Read More]
LKFF Teaser Screening: Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982
The first LKFF Teaser screening of the year: Kim Ji-young: Born 1982 (82년생 김지영) + Introduction by Sarah Shin Dir: Kim Do-young (2019, 118 mins) Cast: Jung Yu-mi, Gong Yoo Tuesday 12 May 2020, 18:15 Barbican Cinema 2 | Beech Street | London EC2Y 8DS Tickets £12 | Buy tickets Based on Cho Nam-joo’s landmark … [Read More]