Sadly White Night (백야, LeeSong Hee-il 2012), the only queer-themed film on LKFF programme this year, has been pulled at the last minute. According to Otherwhere, the 70 minute feature was inspired by the real life case of a homophobic street assault. The film, which first showed at the Jeonju International Film Fest in April … [Read More]
Category: Festivals (page 40)
Festival Film Review: Gabi – a glossy period spy movie with plenty to recommend it
This year’s Korean Film Festival has a focus on period film – the closing gala is Masquerade, and we also have The Grand Heist, I am the King, and Gabi. Gabi is set in the last decade of the 19th Century, at a time when the Japanese and the Russians were competing for influence in … [Read More]
Kim Yoon-suk interview: from The Chaser to The Thieves
Kim Yoon-suk discusses his decision to focus exclusively on film, his collaborations with Na Hong-jin, and the appeal of socially grounded, hardcore thrillers. He reflects on the demands of The Thieves, the limits of TV drama production, and why intense genre films travel more easily than Korean comedy on the international stage. [Read More]
Choi Dong-hoon interview: “a genius storyteller”
Director Choi Dong-hoon discusses his move from acting to full-time directing, his approach to genre cinema, and why character matters more than message. He explains the creative choices behind The Thieves, casting Jeon Ji-hyun and Kim Hye-soo, working beyond heist films, and balancing Korean stories with growing international audiences. [Read More]
Festival Film Review: The Thieves – an exhilarating start to LKFF 2012
What can one say about one of the most popular Korean films ever? It’s slick, it’s got Jeon Ji-hyun and Kim Hye-su; it’s got Lee Jeong-jae, Kim Yun-seok and even Hong Kong megastar Simon Yam. Yes, it’s a real pleasure to combine in one film some of your favourite Korean eye-candy with a couple of … [Read More]
The LKFF 2012 Programme
Here’s the schedule for the London Korean Film Festival 2012. And below the listing is the official press release to give you a flavour of the thinking behind the line-up. (All dates are November 2012). Thanks to Paul Quinn at Hangul Celluloid for doing a lot of the heavy lifting fishing out run times and … [Read More]
K-film at the BFI London Film Fest: Nameless Gangster outstays its welcome
What a disappointment. One of Korea’s biggest grossing films this year is just not good enough. It’s a perfectly acceptable gangster flick, but is as bloated as Choi Min-sik, who must have eaten a serious number of pies to get to his fighting weight for this film. The plot is rather charming in the way … [Read More]
K-film at the BFI London Film Fest: Doomsday Book is really not worth the effort
Doomsday Book, the first of six Korean films to screen at the 56th BFI London Film Festival is a set of three short films based loosely on a science fiction theme. The two outer segments, gentle comedies directed by Im Pil-seong (임필성), sandwich a semi-serious but nevertheless meagre filling by Kim Ji-woon entitled Heavenly Creature … [Read More]
Comrade Kim Goes Flying at the Busan Int’l Film Fest
Some interesting stuff at this year’s BIFF. Apart from Studio-MWP’s adaptation of Buckwheat Season, there’s a North Korean film being screened there, for the first time since 2003. “Comrade Kim Goes Flying,” was co-directed by a North Korean and two Europeans. (Source: AP / Guardian) [Read More]
Buckwheat Season to get the Green Days treatment at Busan Film Fest
One of Korea’s most famous short stories, Lee Hyo-seok’s Buckwheat Season / When Buckwheat Flowers Bloom (메밀꽃 필 무렵, 1936) is to be brought to the cinema by the creators of Green Days (Korean title 소중한 날의 꿈, 2010). Green Days was LKL’s film of the year 2010 and was the stand-out film at the … [Read More]
Korean Films at the 56th BFI London Film Festival
After a pretty dry couple of years for Korean film at the BFI London Film Festival, this year there’s a feast. Book your tickets now. Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time (범죄와의 전쟁: 나쁜놈들 전성시대, 2012) Director-Screenwriter: Yoon Jongbin Producer: Park Shinkyu, Han Jaeduk With: Choi Minsik, Ha Jeongwoo, Jo Jinwoong 133 mins Yoon Jongbin’s … [Read More]
Based on the design talent at Goldsmiths, the future of Korea at 100% Design London is in safe hands
One of the regular features in the London calendar is the London Design Festival, which this year ran from 14-23 September. Two big exhibitions form the cornerstones of the festival, at opposite ends of the Circle Line: 100% Design London at Earl’s Court, and Tent London at the Truman Brewery in Brick Lane. And given … [Read More]
Korea Design returns to 100% Design London
As in previous years, the Korea Institute of Design Promotion is hosting a country pavilion at the Earls Court 100% Design London show. Here are the details of the Korean exhibitors this year. KOREA DESIGN 2012 100% Design, London 19-22 September 2012 Stand IP300 Korea Design is an exhibition of Korean Design at 100% Design … [Read More]
In pictures: All Eyes on Korea at the Thames Festival 2012
We didn’t manage to see all of the All Eyes on Korea Thames Festival events, but here’s a flavour of some of them… 1. The Kukkiwon Taekwondo demonstration team practising on the evening before the Festival. They wowed the audience on Saturday with an encore featuring PSY’s Gangnam Style. 2. CJ’s new restaurant, Bibigo, was … [Read More]
Contemporary K-art in front of Tate Modern at the Thames Festival
More details of the K-art stream in the wide-ranging Korean participation in the Thames Festival. And while you’re paying a visit, don’t forget to pop in to the Tate Modern itself, where Sung Hwan Kim has an amazing installation in the East Tank. ‘All Eyes on Korea’: Contemporary Korean Art and Family Workshops Saturday, 8th … [Read More]
Kim Jeong-hoon’s A Petty Romance: a pleasant way to spend two hours
A Petty Romance (쩨쩨한 로맨스, 2010) is one of those gentle romantic comedies which Korea seems to do so well. Charming, easy-going, and despite the story line – the composition of an adult manga – not particularly risqué. Written and directed by first-timer Kim Jeong-hoon it’s nothing to rave about but it’s a very pleasant … [Read More]