ID :
40493
Wed, 01/14/2009 - 09:08
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http://m.oananews.org//node/40493
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S. Korean film festival marks 10th birthday with Asian collaboration
By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Yonhap) -- Short but inspiring works of renowned filmmakers from
Seoul, Tokyo and Manila will be featured at the Jeonju International Film
Festival (JIFF) in May as the South Korean film event turns 10 years old this
year.
South Korea's Hong Sang-soo, Japan's Naomi Kawase and the Philippines' Lav Diaz
have each contributed a 30 minute-long short film to the "The Jeonju Three
Digital Shorts Project," which helped shed the limelight on many emerging
directors during the past decade.
"During the past years, we have invited directors from Europe, Africa and
elsewhere to our collaborated project," the program director Jung Soo-wan said at
a press conference Tuesday. "This time, we are back to Asia, where we had started
off the decade."
The JIFF, held each year at the traditional South Korean city of Jeonju about 240
kilometers south of Seoul, has been growing into one of the most important film
festivals in Asia, noted especially for its effort to discover hidden films from
non-Western regions.
The digital shorts project is considered JIFF's core program, providing 50
million won (US$36,820) to each of the three directors chosen annually to produce
short digital pieces to be premiered at the event.
The project has been drawing keen attention from movie critics overseas with two
JIFF-commissioned films, "Expectations" and "Memories," receiving awards at the
2008 Dubai International Film Festival and the 2007 Locarno International Film
Festival, respectively.
South Korean director Hong, noted for his humorous portrayals of the hidden --
and often ridiculous -- desires of Korean men, again talks about tangled
relationships in his first short film "Lost in the Mountains."
"This is my very first short, but I tried not to make it any different from my
past feature movies," he said. "The movie focuses on how people often mess up
their good fortunes and relationships with distorted desires and ideals."
Japan's leading female director Kawase, who won the Cannes 2007 Grand Prix with
her movie "The Mourning Forest," has contributed "Koma," a story about a third
generation Korean who discovers his identity after meeting a Japanese woman.
Filipino director Diaz portrays the lives of former miners in the Marinduque
Island, who face difficulties after a Canadian Mining Company shuts down the mine
in his movie "Butterflies Have No Memories."
"I was honored to be invited to this project," Diaz told reporters here. "It was
a good challenge for me to compete and work together with fellow filmmakers (from
Korea and Japan)."
The 10th JIFF will run from April 30 through May 8, featuring over 200 films from
40 countries. Winner of the Woosuk Award, the festival's top prize for feature
films and documentaries with a running time of more than 60 minutes, will receive
$10,000.
hayney@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Yonhap) -- Short but inspiring works of renowned filmmakers from
Seoul, Tokyo and Manila will be featured at the Jeonju International Film
Festival (JIFF) in May as the South Korean film event turns 10 years old this
year.
South Korea's Hong Sang-soo, Japan's Naomi Kawase and the Philippines' Lav Diaz
have each contributed a 30 minute-long short film to the "The Jeonju Three
Digital Shorts Project," which helped shed the limelight on many emerging
directors during the past decade.
"During the past years, we have invited directors from Europe, Africa and
elsewhere to our collaborated project," the program director Jung Soo-wan said at
a press conference Tuesday. "This time, we are back to Asia, where we had started
off the decade."
The JIFF, held each year at the traditional South Korean city of Jeonju about 240
kilometers south of Seoul, has been growing into one of the most important film
festivals in Asia, noted especially for its effort to discover hidden films from
non-Western regions.
The digital shorts project is considered JIFF's core program, providing 50
million won (US$36,820) to each of the three directors chosen annually to produce
short digital pieces to be premiered at the event.
The project has been drawing keen attention from movie critics overseas with two
JIFF-commissioned films, "Expectations" and "Memories," receiving awards at the
2008 Dubai International Film Festival and the 2007 Locarno International Film
Festival, respectively.
South Korean director Hong, noted for his humorous portrayals of the hidden --
and often ridiculous -- desires of Korean men, again talks about tangled
relationships in his first short film "Lost in the Mountains."
"This is my very first short, but I tried not to make it any different from my
past feature movies," he said. "The movie focuses on how people often mess up
their good fortunes and relationships with distorted desires and ideals."
Japan's leading female director Kawase, who won the Cannes 2007 Grand Prix with
her movie "The Mourning Forest," has contributed "Koma," a story about a third
generation Korean who discovers his identity after meeting a Japanese woman.
Filipino director Diaz portrays the lives of former miners in the Marinduque
Island, who face difficulties after a Canadian Mining Company shuts down the mine
in his movie "Butterflies Have No Memories."
"I was honored to be invited to this project," Diaz told reporters here. "It was
a good challenge for me to compete and work together with fellow filmmakers (from
Korea and Japan)."
The 10th JIFF will run from April 30 through May 8, featuring over 200 films from
40 countries. Winner of the Woosuk Award, the festival's top prize for feature
films and documentaries with a running time of more than 60 minutes, will receive
$10,000.
hayney@yna.co.kr
(END)
