Life can often throw you curveballs, but a person can only endure so much while also trying to reach deeper into oneself to find what gives them a reason to live. Vertigo, written and directed by Jeon Gye-soo, depicts one of these emotional and complex life stories. Seo-young (Chun Woo-hee: The Wailing, Han Gong-ju) struggles with her existence;…
The King Review
Timothée Chalamet was proclaimed a revelation after his stunning performance in Call Me by Your Name (2017) and Beautiful Boy (2018). This year, Timothée’s winning streak is back again with two new films: The King, a Netflix production directed by David Michôd, and the long-awaited Little Women by Greta Gerwig, which is set for a December release. Prior…
4th London East Asia Film Festival: In Conversation with Jung Hae-in of ‘Tune in for Love’
It’s been five years since Jung Hae-in debuted as an actor. He shot to stardom in 2014 after appearing in a TV drama Bride of the Century, followed by The Three Musketeers, a period drama TV series. Within this short time, the young actor has not only been seen on TV, but also in films, with…
4th London East Asia Film Festival: Closing Night Gala – I’m Livin’ It Review
I’m Livin’ It is the directorial debut of Wong Hing Fan. It stars Aaron Kwok as Bowen, an ex–insurance broker, who it seems has been to prison for embezzlement. A frequent customer at a 24-hour fast food restaurant, clearly meant to be McDonald’s, Bowen is the focal point of the narrative, around which a variety…
4th London East Asia Film Festival – In Conversation with Ryu Jun-yeol
Sunny days are rare in the UK during the Autumn, but who needs them when Ryu Jun-yeol is in London and his bright personality and smile brightens up the day? At one of London’s hotels, the actor greets us with a warm handshake. As we sit comfortably on the Victorian looking sofa, he enthusiastically invites…
4th London East Asia Film Festival: Opening Night Gala – Exit Review
Up amongst Seoul’s rollercoaster of a skyline, Yong-nam (Jo Jung-suk) and Eui-Ju (Lim Yoona) are hurdling from building to building desperately trying to outrun and outsmart the toxic fog slowly following them across the city. Opening up this year’s London East Asia Film Festival, Lee Sang-geun’s feature debut Exit is a joyful, lively but somewhat…
In Conversation with Aivan, Singer-Songwriter and Multi-Instrumentalist
“I don’t remember a specific day where I just woke up thinking I’d become an artist” Lee Johan, a.k.a Aivan, explains over an iced tea in one of Seoul’s busy cafes. Aivan only debuted last year, but he has already written a hefty amount of music in that time. It might not have been a…
63rd BFI London Film Festival: Moffie Review
Tucked up in their dorm beds, sandwiched between lumpy mattresses and itchy blankets, South African soldiers are swapping stories. One of them starts to tell the story of two soldiers found kissing in a bathroom stall – ‘Moffies’ they’re derogatorily named. After being caught the pair are dragged out and thrown in front of their…
2019 Zandari Festa in Seoul – Dead Buttons
Like all great adventures, the Dead Buttons gig at Zandari Festa ended too soon. Deep in the belly of Seoul’s Club FF surrounded by layers of graffiti and stickers on neon washed walls, a small stage held Dead Buttons and all their energy, all their sound, all their passion. As the venue filled and the…
63rd BFI London Film Festival: The Last Black Man in San Francisco Review
Balancing together on the same beat-up skateboard, Jimmie (Jimmie Fails) and his best friend Montgomery (Jonathan Majors) fly through the streets of San Francisco. A symphony of soaring strings and thunderous, belting horns explodes behind them – over the top of which, a soapbox preacher urges that ‘We are these homes! We built them!… This…
63rd BFI London Film Festival: The Dude in Me Review
Body swap comedies are beloved for their bold and ludicrous takes on what happens when opposites switch. Defined by the occurrence of two characters swapping physical states but maintaining their prior personalities, body swap films offer up absurd and fanciful interpretations of what can happen when you take characters and place them in an extreme…
Sesang Review
Sesang – translated as the Korean word for ‘world’ – follows the lives of two twenty-something creatives Nari (Kim Jin-young) and Han-chul (Han Jong-hoon) as they try to navigate their own separate careers after falling out of love. The former lovers reunite after a year apart when Han-chul visits Nari in New York, where Nari…
“We Wanted to Be a Voice for the Silent, a Light in the Dark, and Spread Hope to the Hopeless” – In Conversation with FYKE
The world has never been an easy place to live in and nowadays, more and more people struggle to endure, with the younger generation often feeling helpless and lost. Still; no matter how hard it might get, there is always a bright side to life – and for some, music is the answer; a ‘helping…
Dok2 Brings Blistering Energy to His London Show
The hip-hop subculture has been a part of the backyard culture or the street culture, as some may call it, for over 40 years now. Initially created in the ghettos of New York as a means of expression mostly for the black communities in the USA, hip-hop caught on and spread like wildfire around the…
