Three Korean films have been invited to screen at this year’s 66th annual Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale), which is running from Feb. 11 to 21.

Director E J-yong’s “The Bacchus Lady,” Lee Dong-ha’s documentary “Weekends” and Yoon Ga-eun’s “The World of Us,” will premiere at the festival’s Panorama screening event. This year’s Panorama selection will feature 51 films from 33 countries, including 34 fictional features and 17 documentaries. 

 

Although the three films will be screened in Berlin, they are not contenders in the festival’s competition program for the prestigious Golden and Silver Bear Awards. This is the third consecutive year that a full-length Korean feature film did not advance to the competition program. 

No stranger to the Berlinale festivals, E J-yong is returning to Berlin with his latest feature that highlights the country’s seedy underbelly, exposing the life of a “Bacchus Lady” – an elderly woman who sells a popular energy drink Bacchus and offers sexual services on the side.

The film touches upon the ramifications of the country’s rapidly ageing society and the increasing number of elderly citizens who struggle to make ends meet. It stars veteran talents Youn Yuh-jung and Chon Moo-song.

“The World of Us,” marks young budding director Yoon Ga-eun’s feature film debut. It follows the story of a tumultuous friendship between two ten-year-old students Sun and Jia and stars Choi Soo-in and Seol Hye-in. In 2014, Yoon won the Berlinale’s Crystal Bear for Best Short Film for the movie “Sprout,” which revolved around the plot of a young girl’s tribulations.

Lee Dong-ha’s new documentary “Weekends,” takes a hard-hitting looking at the state of the gay rights movement in Korea. The 98-minute documentary follows the lives of the members of G-Voice, an all-male gay choir in Seoul. It examines their struggles against homophobia and prejudice as they prepare to hold the choir’s first large-scale concert event. 

This year’s Berlinale will feature 33 world premieres, nine international premieres and nine European premieres, with American filmmakers Ethan and Joel Coen’s star-studded film “Hail, Caesar!” opening the festival.

A total of 18 productions have been selected for the event’s main competition awards including “Midnight Special” and “Zero Days” from the U.S., “A Dragon Arrives!” from Iran, Germany’s “24 Weeks” as well as Chinese feature “Crosscurrent.”

Meryl Streep, Lars Eidinger and Clive Owen are among this year’s festival judges.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)