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.

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Join Kingston Rudieska along side Ynot and super8bit at DGBD for a night of cheap booze and jamming tunes. Doors open 7:30 and tickets are just w10,000 with a free drink. (more…)

Cocore will be celebrating the release of their sixth album “Relax” at DGBD in Hongdae, Seoul on Saturday Sept. 12. The band is one of  Korea’s oldest indie bands cutting their teeth on Nirvana covers back in 1995. Since then they have survived Kim Dae Joon’s authoritarian edict against amplified public performance and two years mandatory military service. Over a decade on they are still experimenting with fresh new sounds. You can hear three songs off the forthcoming CD at the band’s minimalist website. The doors open at 11pm and tickets are just w10,000 with a free drink.

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The 2009 Seoul Performing Arts Festival will feature theatre, dance and multidisciplinary performance art from countries around the world this Oct. 13 through Nov. 21. This year’s theme “Analog and Digital” will look at humanity coming to terms with life in the digital era. Three of the forty performances this year are based on plays by William Shakespeare.

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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.
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The Pulitzer Prize winning musical “Rent” will be opening in Korea on Sept. 8, 2009, on the anniversary of its final Broadway production after a twelve year run. The Seoul performance will run just twelve days until Sept. 20 and feature the original cast including Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal. This will be the first time in thirteen years that they have returned to the show for its final tour. The show will be staged at KBS Hall in Yeoido, Seoul. Tickets cost from w40,000 won to w200,000.  Tickets are available at Auction Ticket. For more information, call 1566-1369 for an English sales rep  or visit www.rent-broadway.co.kr.

Tonight at Club FF in Seoul, Melt Banana plays Lazy Magnet, Guckkasten, The Plastic Day, Galaxy Express and Sato Yukie. Tickets are w25000 and the doors open at 7:30p.m.