Image courtesy of the Chungmuro International Film Festival

The 3rd Chungmuro film festival just finished on Tuesday night in Seoul. I have attended all three festivals, and this year there was a marked difference in the line-up. The previous years focused almost exclusively on older films, and as a result was a great opportunity for cinephiles to see classic films from Hollywood and around the world in the theatre. This year, the number of retrospectives has been significantly reduced, and the majority of the screenings are of newer releases. These changes were recently criticized in The Korea Times, which accused the festival of lacking any real direction and of not being able to match the content of the other major festivals (notably Pusan and Jeonju). I was personally saddened to see the number of older films cut, but nevertheless I can understand the desire to incorporate newer material. And the slogan of the festival, “Yesterday, Now and Forever”, does give an indication of the vision Chungmuro is looking to achieve: a synthesis of film history with the current international cinema. It is true that this first attempt did not really integrate these very well, but it is a worthwhile pursuit for future festivals. Especially for foreigners, there are things to complain about, most notably the lack of English subtitles on numerous films, especially the Korean classics. Even worse, a number of films were labeled as having subtitles but didn’t. I had this experience with Claude Chabrol’s early New Wave classic Les Cousins (1959), which was very disappointing given how hard it is to see this on home video. But despite the problems, this is a festival that I believe can succeed with some better planning, organization, and, yes, vision. In fact, this festival is actually needed for the city, given its size and the amount of interest in the movies.

(more…)

Daegu Art Cinema (also known as the Daegu Cinematheque), has been one of the only places to see films outside the mainstream since 1992. The theatre is programmed by Nam Tae Woo, a professor of film studies at Keimyung University in west Daegu. As of this year they have been supported by the Korean Film Counsel, KOFIC
(more…)

The Seoul Cinematheque, in co-operation with the Mexican, Spanish and Venezuelan embassies, will host their 10th Mexican Film Festival from Sept. 1st to the 9th. The festival will showcase six films, two being screened with English subtitles. The films highlight some of the best new independent talent in Mexico at a time when Mexican directors Guilermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuarón Orozco and Alejandro González Iñárritu have risen to the top of international cinema.
(more…)

Jacques Demy‘s “Donkeyskin” will be playing for one day only at the Seoul Cinematheque on Aug. 23 at 2:30. “Peau d’Ane” a “musical film rendering of the famous Charles Perrault fairy tale Donkeyskin,” will be screened with English subtitles. After the screening there will be a lecture given in Korean by actress Jang Hye Jin.

(more…)

Opening Aug. 6th at Indiespace in Seoul’s Myeong-dong, neighbourhood Yeo Myung-jun’s “The Code of the Duel” an independent thriller about contemporary Korean society with a twist, sword fights are legal. Starting Aug. 20th you can see Kim Tae-gon’s “The Pot” (also playing at Sangsang Madang an independent horror film about a family that moves to Seoul after inheriting a large amount of money only to find their new Christian neighbor is eerily obsessed with their daughter. Neither films are subtitles in English but something tells me that they aren’t dialog driven and they aren’t likely to get big distribution. Check the schedule for show times.
(more…)

Check out the The Korea Society’s interview with “Thirst” director Park Chan-Wook. The podcast is translated in English. For more podcast from and about Korea check out our podcasts page.
(more…)

The Seoul Cinematheque is one of Korea’s greatest cultural resources in a country where pop-cinema has a virtual monopoly on public screens. Since 2002, the Seoul Art cinema, has screened over 3000 films from 40 different countries under its mandate exhibit the best of world cinema. In its seven year history there have been 200 retrospectives one some of the world’s best filmmakers including, most recently, Sri Lanka’s Dharamsena Pathiraja and Nouvelle Vague founding member Jean-Luc Goddard.
(more…)

In Korean film history, the Chungmuro area in central Seoul is considered to be the place where it all started. Three years ago, the Chungmuro International Film Festival (CHIFFS) was conceived as a means to confirm the area’s cultural significance and the growing recognition of Korean film in world cinema. For its third year, CHIFFS has selected the theme, “Yesterday, Now, and Forever”, and will screen 214 films of various genres from 40 countries at multiple locations in the downtown area from August 24th to September 1st. (more…)