From classics to cult, movies of different genres are being screened at an annual summer film festival in Seoul. The 2013 Cine-Vacances Seoul, in its 8th year, is showing 28 movies categorized into four sections at Seoul Art Cinema in Insa-dong, Seoul.

The cinema is a non-profit cinematheque ― a film archive with small venues that screens mostly classic and art-house films. It screens some 500 films from various countries and receives over 60,000 visitors every year. 

The films taken out of the archive for this summer’s festival include vampire flicks, Japanese samurai and period movies, as well as films directed by Argentinean filmmaker Matias Pineiro.

The festival, which runs until Aug. 25, is a perfect venue to watch some of the top vampire movies of all time, including the 1994 “Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles,” one of the most-watched vampire films featuring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise and the 1971 cult film “Lesbian Vampire,” an erotic horror tale about a female vampire killing women for her thirst of female blood. It is also the oldest vampire movie on screen during the festival.

Titled “Sweet Horror: Vampire Movies,” this section presents various styles of vampire movies from conventional ones featuring coffins and Dracula in “Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary,” to unconventional and more violent ones, such as the 1998 “Vampires,” about vampire hunters and the vengeance of vampires toward them. Also, the 1995 “The Addiction,” about a New York-based graduate student’s craving for human blood after getting bitten by a vampire on street.

The festival also takes the audience to major tourist destinations around the world from Germany, Paris and Tokyo to beautiful Corsica Island in films such as “Adieu Philippine,” a 1962 French film about young men and women leaving for Corsica on vacation, the 1992 “Chasing Butterflies,” which takes place in a French suburban town, and the 1952 Japanese film “Lightning,” about four sisters and brothers with different fathers living together in Tokyo.

Films directed by Matias Pineiro, a rising young filmmaker, are also being screened, including his debut film, the 2007 “The Stolen Man,” based on the daily routine of the protagonist Mercedes who works at a museum and “Rosalinda (2010),” and “Viola (2012),” which are based on the tales of Shakespeare and are two parts in Pineiro’s Shakespeare trilogy “The Shakespeariada.”

The screening of Japanese samurai movies is co-organized by The Japan Foundation and include movies from the 1960s to 2003. The 2003 gang movie “Another Battle: Conspiracy” features famous Japanese actor Ken Watanabe as a gang leader. Watanabe became well-known for his role in “The Last Samurai (2003),” for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Outside the film archive, the festival unveils the “The Grandmaster” a Hong Kong martial arts drama film based on the life story of Ip Man, a trainer of Bruce Lee, on Aug. 18, four days before its official release in Korea.

Aside from the movie screenings, the festival will hold seminars and lectures on movies featured during the festival. Movie critics and directors are conducting the lectures in Korean.

The festival is organized by the Korean Association of Cinematheques and sponsored by the Korean Film Council, the Japan Foundation and Institut Francais. Prices for movie tickets are 7,000 won for adults and 6,000 won for teenagers. For more information about the movie schedule and lectures, visit www.cinematheque.seoul.kr, or call (02) 741-9782.

By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)