Reel Talk: Busan City vs. Busan Film Festival

Every Friday I appear on a segment called Reel Talk for Arirang TV on the 2 o'clock news, mostly covering Korean cinema.

Just over a week ago, a controversy erupted when Busan City asked the director of the Busan International Film Festival to resign. Events have unfolded in quick fashion, and for this week's Reel Talk I talked about what has happened so far and the possible implications of the situation.

Click to read more»

News: Busan Asks BIFF Director to Step Down, He Refuses (2nd UPDATE)

By Pierce Conran

2nd Update (01/27) - Though the basic facts remains the same (refer to the original post and 1st update below), here is some clarification on the current situation, as explained in a Screen Daily article:

• Last Friday (January 23rd), BIFF Director Lee Yong-kwan met with Jung Gyung-jin, Busan's vice mayor for administrative affairs, and culture and tourism bureau director-general Kim Kwang-hee. Citing the poor results of a recent audit (which were not shared with Lee), they suggested he should step down. Lee inquired as to whether they were conveying Busan Mayor Suh Byung-soo's opinion. They confirmed this to be the case.

Click to read more»