I am currently away in Canada and thus unavailable to contribute a regular film column until the end of the month, but an article I wrote on Lee Chang-dong’s 2007 MILYANG/ SECRET SUNSHINE has just been published in the on-line journal JUMP CUT. It is a much longer, more academic piece than I usually contribute here, but may be of interest to those interested in Korean cinema and cinematic style (and, of course, fans of the director). And the journal illustrated the piece well with numerous stills. It is available here.

I have returned to Jeonju for the final days of the festival. Here are some recommendations:

Wednesday: 11:00 A GOOD RAIN KNOWS, the latest from Korean director Hur Jin-ho; 14:00 JEONJU DIGITAL PROJECT, featuring 3 short films  made exclusively for the festival (an annual Jeonju tradition that dates back to 2000); also at 14:00, Pedro Costa’s CASA DE LAVA, his second feature, a reimagining of Jacques Tourneur’s I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE; 17:00 WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, the latest feature from the great Spike Jonze, a deeply personal film hiding inside a Hollywood children’s book adaptation; and at 20:00, the complete METROPOLIS, although it should be noted there are no English subtitles. Since it’s a silent film this isn’t a huge problem, since it is only intertitles, but for those unfamiliar with the film it may be a hindrance. Also, at 20:30, Kevin Brownlow’s 1975 film WINSTANLEY.

Thursday: 11:00 IN THE SHADOWS, a German thriller modeled after the French master Jean-Pierre Melville; 14:00 ANTONIO DAS MORTES, Glauber Rocha’s 1969 feature that was a key work in the Cinema Nuovo movement in Brazil; 17:00 NE CHANGE RIEN, the latest from Pedro Costa, a musical documentary about the singer Jeanne Balibar;  17:30 TETRO, the latest from Francis Ford Coppola featuring a great lead performance from Vincent Gallo; 20:30 LAND OF ANNIHILATION, a documentary about the Holocaust, directed by German political director Romuald Karmakar; also at 20:30 Pedro Costa’s epic COLOSSAL YOUTH, a film that features such beautiful images that a big screen is necessary for appreciation.

Friday has a reduced schedule, but at 11:00 there is a rare chance to see the Argentinian agitprop documentary THE HOUR OF THE FURNACES, directed by Getino and Solanas, the authors of the manifesto “Towards a Third Cinema”. At 11:30, the quirky comedy HERE AND THERE has been an audience favorite; and at 14:30 there is Sergei Eisenstein’s silent classic OCTOBER. The festival closes with TO THE SEA by Pedro Gonzalez-Rubio.

The complete shcedule is here.

A Korea National Cancer Centre study, with Ewha, SNU, and the University of California, Berkeley, fails to find a clear link between cancer and cell phones, while the International Energy Agency (IEA) ranks Korea as the 9th largest polluter in its 2009 world energy report, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government continues to look into asbestos in the city. They released a report based on the random inspection of 66 buildings that found asbestos in approximately half, including a hospital and other public facilities. (more…)

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Seoul plans 8 ecological parks by 2014.

Two Gyeonggi cities to merge.

Online shopping surges with flu fear.

World’s largest Pterosaur footprint found in Gyeongsan province.

Hongdae’s Gallery LOOP is a four storey alternative art space that is committed to challenging mainstream art forms and institutions while helping define the future of Asian contemporary art. The space consists of two display rooms, the LOOP Media Centre, and an in-house cafe, Salon de LOOP. The current exhibition, “Known Unknowns”, features works by five British contemporary artists: Elizabeth Magill, Ruth Claxton, Sofia Hulten, Jacques Nimki, and Graham Gussin, and runs until August 11th. (more…)