Putting age behind silver screen

The film “An Old Lady,” dealing with the story of a sexually abused 69-year-old woman, has an open ending, as however old they may be, “life goes on for the aged characters,” said Lim Sun-ae, the auteur of the film. “The film’s message is not about telling people to respect or pay attention to the elderly, but more about the two seniors becoming aware of their own dignity and supporting each other,” Lim said during a press event held in August ahead o

Sept. 6, 2020

DMZ documentary festival to go ahead on-site despite pandemic

The 12th DMZ International Documentary Film Festival will take place this month on-site as planned, but in a significantly scaled down form amid the COVID-19 pandemic, its organizers said Wednesday. Asia’s largest documentary film festival will run Sept. 17-24 in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, just north of Seoul. The festival, which was originally scheduled to take place at three screening venues, will now be held only at the Megabox Baekseok branch. Audience numbers will be limited to 50 p

Sept. 2, 2020

How will BIFF weather COVID-19?

Back in January, how long the COVID-19 pandemic would last was anyone’s guess. The organizers of the annual Busan International Film Festival slated for next month probably had no idea that it would continue to wreak havoc. The official preview press conference scheduled for Sept. 7 was canceled as the novel coronavirus spreads wider and faster than before in what is seen as a second surge. “We were supposed to announce whether the event would be held offline during the press co

Aug. 31, 2020

[Feature] Film crowdfunding: When viewers are stakeholders

Just as the local cinemas seemed to be recovering from the monthslong slump caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, local film distributor Merrychristmas Inc. announced that it was turning to crowdfunding platform Crowdy to fund its marketing budget of 300 million won ($254,000) for upcoming film “Space Sweepers.” A relatively new company seeking crowdfunding for a large blockbuster was unprecedented, and more than 4,500 people signed up to be notified of the actual start of the crowdfun

Aug. 31, 2020

Song Joong-ki’s ‘Space Sweepers’ release shelved again

The release of Korean space blockbuster “Space Sweepers” has been delayed yet again as new coronavirus infections continue in South Korea, with 371 new cases confirmed Friday.　 On Thursday, the film’s distributor Merry Christmas released an official statement, announcing the second delay of the highly anticipated film. Originally slated to hit the local theaters on Sept. 23, its release has been pushed back indefinitely as for now. Coming from director Jo Sung-hee, who helme

Aug. 28, 2020

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Fukuoka (Korea) Opened Aug. 27 Drama Directed by Chang Lu So-dam (Park So-dam) takes Je-moon (Yoon Je-moon) to Fukuoka to reconnect him with his long estranged friend Hae-hyo (Kwon Hae-hyo). The two men parted ways 28 years earlier after falling in love with the same woman. In Fukuoka, So-dam is able to communicate without speaking the same language, and understand people’s minds without talking to them. With this mysterious woman, the two men set off on a journey through their memories.

Aug. 28, 2020

Japanese auteur Hirokazu Koreeda’s first Korean film to star top Korean actors

Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Koreeda will take on his first Korean movie with top-tier actors Song Kang-ho, Bae Doo-na and Gang Dong-won, according to the film’s distributor CJ ENM. Tentatively titled “Broker,” the film is a drama about people involved with “baby boxes” -- temperature-controlled containers in which unwanted newborns are dropped off. The Japanese writer and director, well reputed for his portraits of families that reveal their complexities and re

Aug. 27, 2020

Are 90-second movies capturing subway audience?

People riding subways will want to keep a close eye on the destination information screens on subway trains and at stations for the next few weeks: The Seoul Metro International Subway Film Festival kicked off Monday, bringing short films to commuters through Sept. 18. The official slogan for this year’s festival, now in its 11th year, is “90 seconds, enjoy the subway!” “I hope many people using the subways can enjoy arts and culture by watching the super-short films,&

Aug. 24, 2020

[Herald Interview] ‘Dreamlike love story in ‘Fukuoka’ is all around us’

In the upcoming film “Fukuoka,” So-dam, played by Korean actor Park So-dam, takes Je-moon -- played by Yoon Je-mun -- to Fukuoka, saying that while she doesn’t speak Japanese, she knows that she will somehow be able to settle there. She is able to talk with not only the Japanese, but the Chinese as well, without speaking a word of the languages. The strange, sometimes surreal film does not go deep into anything. It appears to merely touch the surface of another dimension of

Aug. 24, 2020

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

An Old Lady (Korea) Opened Aug. 20 Drama Directed by Lim Sun-ae The elderly Hyo-jung (Ye Su-jeong) is sexually abused by a 29-year-old male nurse’s aide during physical therapy. When she reports the case to police, wary young officers wonder if she may be suffering from dementia. When no one seems to believe Hyo-jung, who has no family or friends, her roommate Dong-in (Ki Joo-bong) investigates the case and speaks to the suspect to persuade him to turn himself in. Moving On (Korea) Op

Aug. 21, 2020

'Evil' beats 'Peninsula' to become most watched summer film of 2020

The South Korean action thriller "Deliver Us From Evil" has emerged as the most-watched film at the country's box office this summer, outpacing the performance of homegrown zombie apocalypse movie "Peninsula," data showed Thursday. The number of combined viewers for "Evil," starring Hwang Jung-min and Lee Jung-jae, reached 3.87 million as of early Wednesday, surpassing the 3.79 million aggregate tally for "Peninsula," according to the data by the Korean

Aug. 20, 2020

[Herald Interview] Rookie filmmaker wants to talk more about family, children

Director Yoon Dan-bi, 30, received the Bright Future award at International Film Festival Rotterdam in February for her debut feature, “Moving On.” That win followed on the heels of four awards at the Busan International Film Festival the previous year. “I really didn’t expect the film to win an award at Busan, let alone Rotterdam,” Yoon said during an interview Friday. “I just wanted to make a family film. The big plot was that a family of four, parents an

Aug. 19, 2020

Women’s film fest to show ‘mutual gaze’ of women

The 22nd Seoul International Women’s Film Festival will take place Sept. 10-16 under the slogan “Mutual Gaze.” With the novel coronavirus spreading in the capital area at an alarming rate, organizers hosted an online press conference about the upcoming annual event on Tuesday. Stating the main themes of this year’s festival as “bold challenge” and “passionate engagement,” festival director Park Kwang-soo said, “We took the opportunity to

Aug. 19, 2020

‘Space Sweepers’ is not the usual sci-fi hero blockbuster

It is being touted as Korea’s first original space blockbuster, but “Space Sweepers” does not show glamorous heroes on cutting-edge spaceships saving the universe. Instead, you get space laborers collecting dangerous trash and fighting enemies in their struggle to survive. Ahead of the film’s release on Sept. 23, director Jo Sung-hee and cast members Song Joong-ki, Kim Tae-ri, Jin Seon-kyu and Yoo Hai-jin attended a preview press conference in Seoul on Tuesday. The even

Aug. 18, 2020

‘The Golden Holiday’ release delayed as COVID-19 resurges

As COVID-19 cases surge, the release of “The Golden Holiday,” which was scheduled to hit the screens Wednesday, has been delayed until further notice. The announcement came just two days before the scheduled premiere date, making it the first major film to have its release delayed since June. “As the social distancing level is raised and concern about infection clusters in our society rises, we decided that the release of a new movie and gathering audiences in theaters could

Aug. 17, 2020

‘The New Mutants’ to hit theaters in Sept.

Walt Disney Co. Korea on Thursday confirmed that Marvel’s horror-superhero film “The New Mutants” will hit theaters in South Korea next month. The distributor has not announced the specific release date. “The New Mutants” was scheduled to open here in April this year, but was forced to postpone the plan due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. An extension of the “X-Men” franchise, “The New Mutants” is about young mutants, involving c

Aug. 14, 2020

'Peninsula’ racks up $48m in 15 countries, tops global box office

Less than a month since the Korean zombie flick opened locally on July 15, “Peninsula” is topping box offices worldwide. According to the film’s local distributor Next Entertainment World on Friday, the zombie blockbuster has exceeded $48 million in sales at box offices in more than 15 countries. In Taiwan, where the film opened the same day as it did in South Korea, the film racked up almost $11 million in sales, the best output achieved by any movie in the country this ye

Aug. 14, 2020

S. Korean crime thriller sold to 56 overseas markets

The South Korean crime thriller "Deliver Us From Evil" has been sold to more than 50 overseas markets, according to its distributor on Friday. The film, which has topped the local box office since its release on Aug. 5, was sold to 56 countries and territories, including the United States, Germany, Taiwan and Hong Kong, according to CJ Entertainment. With the movie hitting Taiwanese screens this Wednesday, the distributor said it is in talks with its counterparts to fix the release

Aug. 14, 2020

COVID-19 worsens existing problems in film industry

The South Korean film industry faces an unprecedented crisis with COVID-19, but at a forum earlier this month some industry representatives argued that the pandemic only amplified a preexisting problem. The forum, held at the National Assembly on Aug. 7, was hosted by Rep. Lim O-kyeong and organized by the Korean Film Council. It was the first such opportunity for movie industry personnel to speak with legislators about the issues the industry faces and discuss possible solutions. Barunson E

Aug. 13, 2020

Personal story of ‘An Old Lady’ sends universal message

During “An Old Lady,” the 69-year-old protagonist Shim Hyo-jung acknowledges that her story might make some people uncomfortable, but says it must be told, reminding us that “living” our lives, is not merely approaching an end to them. While the upcoming film deals with the largely unexplored topic of sex crimes against the elderly, that is where the film starts, not what it centers on. Hyo-jung is sexually abused by a 29-year-old male nurse’s aide while receivin

Aug. 12, 2020