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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

KCN: Oscar Shortlist, Festival News and Trailers (08/23-08/29, 2012)

Oscar news this week and a number of festival items, not to mention posters and trailers.


KOREAN CINEMA NEWS

KOFIC Announces Shortlist for 2013 Oscars
A team is being assembled by the Korean Film Council to deliberate over the merits of five recent Korean features hoping to become to next selection to represent the nation in the Foreign-Language Oscar race. This year's contenders include Im Sang-soo's Taste of Money, Hong Sang-soo's In Another Country, Kim Ki-duk's Pieta (which is having its world premiere next month at Venice, the gangster pic Nameless Gangster and Lee Byung-hyun period drama Masquerade, which opens next month in Korea.

Over the past few years there has been some consternation regarding the eventual picks, which have included Crossing (2008), A Barefoot Dream (2010) and The Front Line (2011). Films that seemed to have far better potential have been passed over, such as Lee Chang-dong's Poetry or the popular hit Sunny. This year's crop does not inspire a great deal of confidence (though few have seen the latter two yet) and imagine that 2013 will be another year without a Korean Oscar nominee. To date not a single Korean film has ever been selected. (Modern Korean Cinema, August 29, 2012)

Poongsan to Compete at Eurasia Fest
The eighth running of the Eurasia International Film Festival in Almaty, Kazakhstan (17-22 Sept 2012) will include a 12 title competitive section, organisers said. Poongsan, by South Korea's Juhn Jai-hong, and Colour of Sky by India's Bijukumar Damodaran are among the competition films from East and South Asia. (Film Business Asia, August 27, 2012)

The popular Marrying the Mafia franchise, which has amassed a stellar 17.5 million admissions to date is getting ready for its 5th entry. Casting is complete, with Yoon Doo-joon, Hwang Kwang-hee and Son Na-eun on board. (hancinema.net, August 27, 2012)

The 6th Cinema Digital Seoul Film Festival (CinDi) Preview
This weekend I will have the opportunity to attend the Cinema Digital Seoul Film Festival for the first time. It may not be one of the biggest Korean film festivals but it has a stellar reputation and is very well-attended. Many industry folk make the trip as it takes place in their backyard, in Apgujeong, Seoul. The festival focuses on the new era of digital filmmaking and while its scope is international, the premiere lineup is the Asian Competition section. Young filmmakers, who are trailblazers in the new digital arts, are favored at this particular event. (Modern Korean Cinema, August 24, 2012)

Kim Ki-duk to Receive Hamburg Film Festival's Douglas Sirk Award
Acclaimed Korean director Kim Ki-duk will receive this year's Douglas Sirk Award at the 2012 Hamburg Film Festival. Kim Ki-duk will receive the lifetime achievement honor on Oct. 4 at the screening of his latest feature, Pieta, which will screen at the Hamburg fest. The drama follows a debt collector who brutally mutilates people who cannot pay up. (The Hollywood Reporter, August 24, 2012)

Thriller With Brains: Traffickers Tackles Human Organ Market
The dark, underground world of human organ trafficking is the focus of the new film, “The Traffickers,” which sees veteran actor Im Chang-jung make his big screen comeback in his first-ever thriller role. The crime thriller is loosely based on true events that the director, Kim Hong-seon, researched after seeing a news story a few years ago about a newlywed Korean couple who went on a trip to China, only to get sucked into illegal organ trafficking. (Joong Ang Daily, August 24, 2012)

China to Host Korean Film Festival
A Korean film festival will be held in China to mark the 20th anniversary of South Korea and China establishing diplomatic ties. The Korean Film Council said the festival will be held from August 29th to October 16th in Beijing and Shanghai. (KBS World, August 22, 2012)


INTERVIEWS

Interview with Young Gun in the Time's Oh Young-doo
Oh Young-doo has been working in the Korean film industry for 15 years and for the last couple of those he has transitioned to making his own low-budget features. He and some of his friends worked together to make the zombie omnibus feature The Neighbor Zombie in 2010 and following that Oh made his feature directorial debut with the ultra low-budget Invasion of Alien Bikini (2011) which had a very successful festival run. (Modern Korean Cinema, August 28, 2012)


TRAILERS

Ghost Sweepers (Main Trailer)


Han Kyung-jik (Main Trailer)


Suspect X (Teaser)


The Spy (English Trailer)



POSTERS

A Werewolf Boy (TIFF Poster)

Grape Candy (Main Poster)

Young Gun in the Time (Character Poster 1)

Young Gun in the Time (Character Poster 2)

Young Gun in the Time (Character Poster 3)

Young Gun in the Time (Character Poster 4)


BOX OFFICE


(Modern Korean Cinema, August 27, 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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