Im Sang-Soo © RR Money, power and subjugation, these are recurring themes in the cinema of Im Sang-Soo. With The Taste of Money, the Korean returns to the Competition two years after The Housemaid and explores cupidity, one of the great ills of the country, according to the director.   "Korean people, whether they are rich or poor, have become obsessed with money." From this premise, Im Sang-Soo imagines the story of Young-jak, the personal assistant t...

The 27th Midnight Sun Film Festival (13.-17.6.2012) will be graced by the presence of two female actors who began their career in the 1950s: Finland's only Hollywood star Taina Elg, and Ingmar Bergman's protégé Harriet Andersson. Of directors, together with their productions, the American cult movie maker Alan Rudoph, Hungarian Béla Tarr, whose quite personal films never fail to cause a stir, two Swedish talents of a younger generation - Ruben Östlund and Axel Petersén - and the Portugues...

  Tania: I would like to ask you about your background, you were a theatre director and then you went into film. How did that work? Kim Jee-woon: I did theatre in school and I learnt acting then, but people around me told me not to, so I stopped. It was in my early 20's that I learnt that there is someone behind the actors of the stage and that a production needs an overall leader behind everything and that's when I learnt the role of a director. Tania: So how did tha...

The Opening Gala of the fifth London Korean Film Festival has been declared a resounding success with many celebrities, filmmakers and diplomats attending. The Man From Nowhere directed by Lee Jeong-beom closed with a standing ovation from the likes of Jonathan Ross, Simon Field (producer of Uncle Boonmee), Tony Rayns (film critic), the ambassador of South Korea and film fans alike. The proceedings kicked off in classic film premier style with The Man From Nowhere receiving the first ever East A...

   The Opening Gala of the fifth London Korean Film Festival has been declared a resounding success with many celebrities, filmmakers and diplomats attending. The Man From Nowhere directed by Lee Jeong-beom closed with a standing ovation from the likes of Jonathan Ross, Simon Field (producer of Uncle Boonmee), Tony Rayns (film critic), the ambassador of South Korea and film fans alike. The proceedings kicked off in classic film premier style with The Man From Nowhere receiving the first ever...

Lee Chang-Dong discussed his film Poetry at a press conference following the In Competition film's screening Wednesday morning. The conference's general theme revolved around the meaning of "poetry," in the film's context as well as in Chang-Dong's personal point of view."Poetry is not just like a bouquet of flowers that is beautiful in itself," Chang-Dong expressed. "It is life. No matter the ugliness of the world, there's always something beautiful inside. That's what ...

The Korean Film Festival in Los Angeles (KOFFLA), which will begin from March 4 to 7 at venues across Los Angeles, held its first official press conference on Monday, February 22 at the Korean Cultural Center. Introducing the festival was executive director Chang-Wha Chung (director of martial arts classic Five Fingers of Death), festival spokesperson actor John Cho (Star Trek, ABC's Flash Forward, Harold & Kumar Go to the White Castle) and festival partner Jeff Black, VP and General Manag...

Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, recognized as one of the premiere film schools in the United States announced a groundbreaking partnership with South Korea's Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF), Asia's largest film festival, to launch a first-of-its-kind filmmaker showcase that will bring select Korean films and filmmakers from PIFF to the U.S. The announcement was jointly made today by Dodge College Dean Bob Bassett and PIFF Director Lee Yong-Kwan.   ...

The official juries for the next Locarno International Film Festival are already shaping up, with several personalities having already confirmed their participation.The jury for the International Competition will include filmmaker HONG Sangsoo (Woman Is the Future of Man, Tale of Cinema), a leading talent in contemporary Korean cinema, whose latest film will screen in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes; French screenwriter and filmmaker Pascal Bonitzer, who has enjoyed long term collaborations...

Join us on April 15th at 5.15pm for the opening panel discussion on recent trends in Taiwanese cinema with the topic... Taiwanese Cinema: A new trend of sustainable success or bubble waiting to burst? Key Issues Addressed:   1) Rise of East Asian film success (notable impact of Mainland China) 2) implication for more regional co-production 3) Cape No 7 and what it's commercial success represents 4) a recent rich trend of films that will dry up in 2009/10? Cost: FREE ENT...

Bellini e o Demónio (in fantastic competition) still no comment Made out of cinematographic passions and pulp fiction, this is a thriller that hooks the viewer to its narrative. Bellini has just become the owner of a bankrupt detective agency. He's in debt, without clients and has a tremendous capacity to get into trouble. One day a strange man hires him to find a mysterious book. In partnership with the journalist Gala, who happens to be his ex-girlfriend, they put the clues together an...