Benson K. Lee is an award-wining filmmaker whose directorial debut, Miss Monday, was invited to be a part of the Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival in 1998. The film went on to win a Special Grand Jury Prize for Best Actor: Andrea Hart. A decade later, Lee made his first documentary, Planet B- Boy,…
Category: In Conversation with
In Conversation with Teo Yoo
Teo Yoo, born and raised in Germany, left for New York City at the age of 20, to study acting at the prestigious Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, a school known for its notable alumni such as Christoph Waltz, Bridget Fonda and Uma Thurman. After New York, he travelled to London where he took on an intensive course…
The 59th London Film Festival: In Conversation with Choi Dong-hoon, director of ‘Assassination’
Choi Dong-hoon, a South Korean director, began his voyage into filmmaking in 2004 when he released The Big Swing, a crime thriller, which brought him instantaneous praise from domestic and foreign critics. A couple of years later, Choi Dong-hoon repeated his previous success with another interesting production, Tazza: The High Rollers, an adaptation of Huh Young-man and…
In Conversation with Robert and Jamie MacDonald- Three Kilts in Mongolia
How many Scotsmen do you need to tackle a Mongolian wrestler? This is the question I tried to ask the airline pilot Jamie MacDonald, photographer Robert MacDonald and David Scott, who travelled to Gengkis Khan’s kingdom to challenge the locals to wrestling. They undertook a 5000 mile journey to experience not only the sport itself,…
The 10th London Korean Film Festival: In Conversation with Zhang Lu
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…
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: In Conversation with Jerzy Skolimowski
Jerzy Skolimowski, born in 1938, is a Polish film director, screenwriter and actor, who is also a painter and a poet. He spent his childhood and teenage years in Prague, where he befriended future filmmaker Milos Forman and Vaclav Havel, a writer, philosopher and politician. He returned to Poland to study Polish Literature and…
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,…
23rd Raindance Film Festival: In Conversation with Kai Barry
American filmmaker Kai Barry is the brains behind Newcomer, the gritty spy thriller that opened this year’s Raindance Film Festival. Starring Bafta award-winning actor James Floyd, Newcomer is about Alex, a newly recruited contractor who is framed for killing his team when a mission goes wrong. In order to clear his name, Alex must go…
London’s Festival of Korean Music: In Conversation with No Brain
Exceedingly open-minded, outspoken and humerous, who else could it be but No Brain, a Korean punk rock band founded in 1996. Often called “the godfathers of the Korean punk scene”, No Brain is comprised of Woo-yong (Bass), Hyun-seong (Drums), Min-jun (Guitar) and Sung-woo (Vocals). Whenever I see their shows, there is always a thrilling atmosphere in the…
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…
In Conversation with Yoon Seok- ho
Yoon Seok-ho is a South Korean television director, whose status was solidified with the success of the TV dramas Autumn in My Heart in 2000 and Winter Sonata in 2002, which are both considered pioneers in Korean melodramatic series, launching the fever that is commonly referred to as the Korean Wave. For years Yoon Seok-…
In Conversation with Boris Seewald
Boris Seewald is a film director who was raised in Central-West Germany, he first ventured into digital media through design and played music in various bands. He moved to Berlin in 2005 with a clear intention of pursuing a career in film, and began work on his own film projects and developing work experience. Owing…
In Conversation with Marijn Poels
Marijn Poels is a documentary and independent filmmaker, who stole my heart with his extraordinary film stories. He focuses on making reports and films worldwide for organisations, governments and educational films concentrated on human rights. Apart from being a filmmaker he is also a writer and photographer. Poels’ film style is characterised by real-life recordings,…
