6th Annual Korean American Film Festival Preview

Next week, from June 5th to 10th, the 6th Annual Korean American Film Festival, which boasts a lineup of nine features and 20 shorts will take place in New York.  One of the highlights in the lineup is Magic and Loss, a feature that premiered at the Busan Film Festival in 2010 and features Korean indie stars Yang Ik-june (Breathless, 2009) and Kim Kkobbi (Life Is Peachy, 2011).

Given the changing landscape of cross-cultural cinema, events such as these, especially those that take a broad view on a diaspora's influence on global culture, are becoming increasingly important.  As such, the 6th KAFFNY, just as in previous years, promises to highlight the connections between very different cinematic global communities by showcasing a broad and eclectic array of independent cinema.  Only wish I was in New York myself to take part!

Below is a full press release on the event:

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Korean Cinema News (05/24-05/30, 2012)

Aside from a new trailer, poster and the Box Office recap, all of this week's news in Cannes-related.  The big films were sold to the major markets but left high and dry at the awards ceremony, though a short did pick up a prize for Korea!

The big news with MKC this week is that the site and I are relocating to Seoul this Sunday, a very exciting devlopment!  Below is yesterday's post about the move:

MKC to Touch Down in Seoul in 5 Days


KOREAN CINEMA NEWS

IFC Midnight to Give US Viewers a Taste of Money With Im Sang-soo's Latest
Im Sang-soo's new film The Taste of Money, which competed in Cannes last week, has been picked up by IFC Midnight for US distribution.  Im's previous film The Housemaid (2010), which also vied in competition at Cannes, was also distributed in North America by IFC Midnight and benefited from a decent amount of exposure.  I recall being surprised when I noticed its availability on Time Warner's On Demand service when I lived in LA.  I'm not sure if a theatrical release will follow and it must be said that it has not received glowing reviews from the Mediterranean fest but this is not always a good indicator for the greater public.

The Taste of Money, which stars Kim Kang-woo (A Better Tomorrow, 2009), Yoon Yuh-jung (Actresses, 2009), Baek Yoon-shik (Save the Green Planet, 2003) and Kim Hyo-jin (Woochi, 2009), brings us inside the lives of one of the richest families in Korea and their tale of greed, lust and violence.  (Modern Korean Cinema, May 30, 2012/Twitch, May 29, 2012)

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MKC to Touch Down in Seoul in 5 Days

Part of an ongoing series about my trip to and discovery of Seoul...

The big day is almost here.  Last week I received my issuance number from Korean immigration and made my way to the local embassy in Bern, the Swiss capital.  I'll get my passport back with its new visa stamp in the next day or two and this morning I received my e-ticket which departs from Zurich this Sunday (June 3rd) with a layover in Doha, Qatar before arriving at Incheon airport Monday evening.  I'll be flying with Qatar Airways which I've only heard great things about, however I am sad that it won't be with Korean Air as naturally I would have liked to catch some new releases on the plane!

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Korean Box Office Update (05/25-05/27)

The Men in Black Score Big After Long Absence

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Men in Black 3 (us)	5/24/12	47.50%	1,064,549	1,210,197	767
2	All About My Wife	5/17/12	24.50%	610,994	1,819,491	537
3	The Avengers (us)	4/26/12	10.30%	260,686	6,741,216	367
4	The Taste of Money	5/17/12	7.80%	193,197	951,420	412
5	As One	5/3/12	3.20%	86,339	1,775,535	277
6	Snow White and the Huntsmen (us)	5/30/12	2.90%	71,840	71,840	284
7	Inazuma Eleven Go (jp)	5/24/12	1.50%	40,393	41,668	242
8	Machine Gun Preacher (us)	5/24/12	0.40%	10,771	17,847	140
9	Mirror Mirror (us)	5/3/12	0.40%	10,443	574,969	57
10	A Muse	4/25/12	0.20%	5,498	1,337,811	52

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Weekly Review Round-up (05/19-05/25, 2012)

A bevvy of reviews this week for Hong Sang-soo's latest as it vies for the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival.  Also a lot of great pieces on current Korean films and for Helpless which recently opened on limited in the US.

FUTURE FILMS

In Another Country - Out 03/31

(Cine Vue, May 24, 2012) 

(gulfnews.com, May 22, 2012)

(Indiewire, May 21, 2012)

(Plume Noir, May 24, 2012)

(Screen Daily, May 21, 2012)

(The Guardian, May 21, 2012)

(The Hollywood Reporter, May 21, 2012)

(The Huffington Post, May 22, 2012)

(The Telegraph, May 22, 2012)

(Variety, May 21, 2012)

(Village Voice, May 21, 2012)

The Emperor's Concubine - Out 06/06

(The Korea Times, May 22, 2012)

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Punch (완득이, Wandeuki) 2011

On the surface Lee Han’s new feature may not seem like much as it treads well-worn territory such of the coming-of-age drama and the sports film.  Even as it unspools it doesn’t seem to break any new ground as we are introduced to a very familiar plot and a fairly typical coterie of characters.  What sets it apart is the skill in its staging.  Though a standard narrative, it is so well executed that it beckons you into its story with a gesture that, like from an old friend, is both welcoming and comforting.  Once you’re nestled into Punch’s world, which hardly takes a moment, subtle and sometimes surprising elements flutter into the film and the outwardly simplistic characters slowly become more fleshed out.  Though it takes some time to realize that you are watching a film that is much more complex than its easygoing exterior lets on.  Lee, who has previously made a name for himself with a series of well-crafted romance films such as Lover’s Concerto (2002), Almost Love (2006) and Love, First (2007), deftly and almost imperceptibly handles the narrative’s many cogs.

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Korean Cinema News (05/17-05/23, 2012)

Some sales in Cannes this week but not too much else to report though there are some great interviews and a new trailer for incoming summer zombie feature Deranged.  Next week should yield some more Cannes news and hopefully a Korean film will pick up a prize though at this point I don't think they'll get anything in the main competition unless The Taste of Money suddenly received a better welcome than in Korea where it opened last week.

KOREAN CINEMA NEWS

Korean Movies Sell at Cannes
A number of high-profile pics have sold at Cannes, including the hotly anticipated The Thieves which was bought by firms in China, Hong Kong and Thailand.  The year's biggest local hit to date, Nameless Gangster, also secured distribution in some territories such as Japan, China and Hong Kong in Asia as well as Eastern Europe, Spain and the French-speaking portion of Europe.  So Ji-sub's hitman film A Company Man, which is scheduled to open next month, was sold to Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, and French and German-speaking Europe.  The Scent was also taken by a few Asian markets, including Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore.  Lastly, Love On-Air, the first wide Korean release of 2012, was sold to Thailand.  (Modern Korean Cinema, May 23, 2012)

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Korean Box Office Update (05/18-05/20, 2012)

All About My Wife Takes First Place in Close Finish

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	All About My Wife	5/17/12	28.70%	593,341	778,430	561
2	The Avengers (us)	4/26/12	28.70%	564,923	6,341,504	573
3	The Taste of Money	5/17/12	21.80%	444,859	568,327	641
4	As One	5/3/12	9.00%	200,091	1,619,089	387
5	Dark Shadows (us)	5/10/12	3.10%	66,722	549,733	270
6	Cold Light of Day (us)	5/17/12	2.20%	49,217	61,552	238
7	Mirror Mirror (us)	5/3/12	1.80%	40,355	557,229	164
8	Architecture 101	3/22/12	1.10%	23,916	4,078,012	124
9	The Lorax (us)	5/3/12	1.00%	23,262	290,162	134
10	A Muse	4/25/12	1.10%	22,065	1,319,085	160

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Weekly Review Round-up (05/12-05/18, 2012)

A lot of reviews this week and many of them for a trio of action/war film which are currently making the rounds in North America, either in theatres or on the home video market.  I'm thrilled to see such interest in these titles but the fact that they all stem from the same genre doesn't really give me high hopes for expanding English-language consumers interest in the broader Korean film industry.  THese titles just confirm that Korean cinema, at present, is still viewed as a niche genre industry abroad, which couldn't be further from the truth.  Sigh...

Also from now on you may notice a few more Twitch reviews as I have been taken on as their Korean correspondent.

Enjoy!

FUTURE FILMS

Dangerously Excited

(Twitch, May 12, 2012)

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Korean Cinema News (05/10-05/16, 2012)

Not a huge news week, the main item being that Snow Piercer is finally underway but some interesting features and tidbits nonetheless, including and a couple of trailers with English subtitles.

In other news I have become the Twitchfilm's Korea correspondent, a position I'm thrilled to take on but no need to worry as nothing will change regarding the day-to-day running of MKC.

KOREAN CINEMA NEWS

Production Begins on Bong Joon-ho's Snow Piercer
Likely the most anticipated project on the horizon from a Korean cineaste, Bong Joon-ho's Snow Piercer has finally begun production, having first been floated as a project back in 2007.  New additions to the cast have been made, which now features Song Kang-ho, Ko Ah-sung, Ewen Bremner, Octavia Spencer, John Hurt, Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, Kenny Doughty and Emma Levie.

Some location photography on a glacier in Austria has already wrapped and no they are underway with the main segment of filming which is happening at the Barrandov studios in Prague, Czech Republic.  It's wonderful to see this exciting project finally coming to life and hopefully the production will be smooth sailing from here on in.  (Modern Korean Cinema, May 16, 2012)

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Unbowed (부러진 화살, Bureojin Hwasal) 2012

In June of this year, two Korean actors will be feted at the famed Grauman’s Chinese theatre on Hollywood Blvd., where they will have their hand and footprints cast in the pavement; the first Asian performers to be honoured in such a way. One is Lee Byung-hyun who, rather than being one of the nation’s best or most long-standing thespians, is the one with the highest international profile. He is making a name for himself in the US industry and will soon be seen in G.I. Joe 2 and then the sequel to Red (2011). In fact, the former will be opening mere days following the aforementioned ceremony so his selection does smack of opportunism.

However, the second star has all the hallmarks of greatness that such a distinction would indicate, and then some. Ahn Sung-ki is a legend in the Korean film industry and is probably its most respected star. One of his earliest roles was in Kim Ki-young’s The Housemaid (1960) and he starred in a series of classics starting in the 1980s, such as A Fine, Windy Day (1980), Im Kwon-taek’s Mandala (1981), Whale Hunting (1984), Park Kwang-su’s Chilsu and Mansu (1988), The Taebaeck Mountains (1994, also Im Kwon-taek), Lee Myeong-se’s Nowhere to Hide (1999) and many, many more. Even now he is still one of the country’s top working actors and earlier this year he proved that he could still draw in the crowds just as well as anybody. He has won the Grand Bell Award (the Korean Oscar equivalent) no less than six times but he seems almost certain to pick up his seventh accolade later this year for his latest performance.

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Korean Box Office Update (05/11-05/13, 2012)

The Avengers Easily Threepeats

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	The Avengers (us)	4/26/12	47.80%	994,319	5,446,891	734
2	As One	5/3/12	16.90%	393,323	1,227,411	512
3	Dark Shadows (us)	5/10/12	13.80%	314,355	372,745	386
4	Snow White (us)	5/3/12	5.00%	123,381	477,859	305
5	Eungyo	4/25/12	4.50%	99,840	1,226,704	310
6	All About My Wife	5/17/12	4.20%	91,426	96,751	277
7	Architecture 101	3/22/12	2.90%	67,365	4,007,674	244
8	The Lorax (us)	5/3/12	1.80%	46,562	261,893	240
9	Crayon Shin-chan (jp)	4/26/12	1.00%	26,667	259,718	130
10	The Scent	4/11/12	0.40%	10,214	1,234,209	70

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