Zhang Lu, a Korean-Chinese filmmaker who was born and raised in China’s Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, has been living and working in Korea since 2012. Most of his films have focused on the disenfranchised ethnic Korean and Chinese-Korean people living in China; these include Grain in Ear (2006), Desert Dream (2007), Dooman River (2011), Scenery (2013), and…
Category: Asian Cinema
The 10th London Korean Film Festival: Twenty
Lee Byeong-heon, a South Korean filmmaker, debuted with the feature Cheer Up Mr Lee in 2013, which subsequently came to win the Audience Award at Seoul International Film Festival. A couple of years later, he released his second movie entitled Twenty; a coming-of-age film which brought him wide recognition among the foreign as well as domestic audience….
The 10th London Korean Film Festival: In Conversation with Jang Kun- jae
South Korean filmmaker Jang Kun- jae is one of the emerging filmmakers in Korea, who is known for his naturalistic films such as Eighteen (2010), Sleepless Night (2013) and A Midsummer Fantasia (2015). Kun- jae is a handy man when it comes to filmmaking; he edits, produces and directs his own films. His debut feature Eighteen…
The 59th London Film Festival: Assassination
A genius storyteller for his spectacular ability to develop elaborate stories, someone once said about Choi Dong-hoon, one of the most successful South Korean film directors in modern Korean cinema. All his five productions, The Big Swindle (2004), Tazza: The High Roller (2006), Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard (2009), The Thieves (2012) and his latest hit Assassination…
The 10th London Korean Film Festival: The Royal Tailor
Lee Won- seok debuted in 2013 with the vivacious romantic comedy How To Use Guys With Secret Tips. It became an unexpected hit among critics as well as the viewers. Nevertheless, it did not do well in the box office mainly because it was up against three biggest production of the 2013; The Berlin File…
23rd Raindance Film Festival: Fires on the Plain and In Conversation with Shinya Tsukamoto
Japan’s involvement in the World War II began on December 7 1941, when it attacked the American base in Hawaii, Pearl Harbor. On the same day, Japanese airplanes raided airports in the Philippines, and two days later, the Imperial Army landed in the country and started its carnage. After a few turbulent months of fighting,…
In Conversation with Ryu Seong-hie
Ryu Seong-hie is a Korean Film Production Designer whose creativity and passion for film has no limits. She made a name for herself in 2001, when she gave a helping hand on Song Il-gon’s film Flower Island. The film was later presented with 7 awards, including CinemAvvenire’s award for Best First Film at the Venice Film…
The 9th London Korean Film Festival: Cold Eyes Review
“A slick and clever thriller, with dynamic pacing, strong lensing and a particularly strong use of space” – Pierce Conran, TWITCH Cold Eyes (2013) by Jo Ui-seok and Kim Byung-seo, will grab you by the throat from the very first minute you see Jung Woo-sung (The Divine Move) on the big screen. It is common…
The 9th London Korean Film Festival: Han Gong- ju Review
In 2004, Korea was shocked by one of the country’s most horrific crimes of the 20th century, when three middle school and two high school girls were kidnapped from the city of Miryang and gang raped by more than 40 male pupils. This infuriating event, unfortunately, was only the beginning of the girls’ struggle…
The 9th London Korean Film Festival: A Hard Day Review
A Hard Day is an action- packed movie by Kim Seong- hun, which puts protagonist detective Go Geon- soo (Lee Sun-Kyun) in a tricky situation from the very first scene. Forced to skip his mother’s funeral he rushes to attend an important matter at the police station. Unfortunately, before reaching the destination, he is…
VIEW OF THE ARTS 