:: 2001 Korean American Film Festival ::
1st Annual KIMA Korean Film Festival
Date: 2.16 ~ 2.18. 2001
Place: McKenna Theatre & Knuth Hall at San Francisco State University(SFSU)
Staff
President: Minku Kwon
Vice President: Sangwoo Lee, Seunghwan Lee
Secretary: Arum Han
Sponsorship, Treasury & Translation: Jeannie Kim
Sponsorship & Treasury: SooJung Choi
Sponsorship: Kyae Yeoung Hong
PR: Joon Lee, Yeonsok Choi, Jeongsook Park
Information & Research: Jongseon Park, Kang Lee
Volunteer Manager: Jay Lee
Synopses
Green Fish : Green Fish wants to ask what we look like today through the perspective of a disbanded family. The film was made by people who were critical of film industry's box-office-centered production. They believe that films should have a consciousness of society's problems.
Memento Mori : This film was released only a week before the start of the new millennium. A creative and sensational work, the movie presents an agonized man mourning her girlfriend's suicide. Although the title implies a horror movie, the film instead reveals a young girl's struggles over her homosexual love and social restrictions. Due to its content, Memento Mori underwent censorship and curtailment by the Korean film industry and the Ratings Board. However, directors Kim and Min are nevertheless quite successful in problematizing the social taboo through this provocative and courageous work.
Nowhere to Hide : The films' excitement springs not only from its action and humor but also from the cinematic invention of every scene - rain pours down under sunshine, and the endless searches and hides result in a culminating fight between the hunter and the hunted.
Joint Security Area : The film portrays a real shooting incident in the truce village of Panmunjom between North and South Korea that happened a few years ago, and is directed by Park Chan-Wook. A shooting at the truce village of Panmunjom leaves two North Korean soldiers dead and a South Korean soldier wounded. As each side tells widely differing accounts of the incident, this case is eventually handed over to an appointed Swiss officer to investigate. JSA immediately drew national attention in Korea, as it was released between the June 15, 2000 summit between North and South Korea and the recent awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Kim Dae Jung. The film dramatically captures South Koreans' yearnings for reconciliation with the North. In late October, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il expressed an interest in seeing the film, and he was promptly sent a print.
Interview : Eun-Seok, the main character, is a film producer who always sees the world through his movie camera. He interviews various people in love and captures them in his films. One day, he gets to interview an ordinary young woman named Young-Hee. The more she tells him, the more mysterious he finds out she is. Eun-Seok falls in love and starts treating her differently from his other interviewees, but he still sees her through his camera. Young-Hee finally comes to reveal her stories that are untold to anyone, as she becomes fascinated by telling her stories in front of the camera. "My name is Young-Hee Lee and 27 years old. And I danced |"
White Badge : "White" signifies death in this film. This film reveals the turbulent experiences that two Korean soldiers underwent at the Vietnam War. The tragedy and madness of war are portrayed from their memories. The images of the damp Vietnam jungle keep haunting them, putting these men's lives in confusion and fear. The two lost their senses in the war and are not able to adapt themselves to the world from which they came, as the war deprived them of all humanistic elements and made them subject to their instincts.
Die Bad : Suk-Hwan and Sung-Bin, the engineering high school graduates, face some arts high school boys at the billiard room. Having a sense of inferiority. Suk-Hwan becomes raged when the students looked down him and his friends. A serious fighting between the students and his friends, including himself, broke out. Sung-Bin, by a mistake, kills his friend, Hyon-Su. Being accused of murder, Sung-Bin spends seven years in prison. After he was released from prison, he tries to start his new life, but the society and his family treat him cold. One day, he meets Hyun, the middle boss of a gang. Sung-Bin is troubled when he sees Tae-Hun be badly beaten by other rivalry gangsters. He saves him from the fight. Sung-Bin finally decides to be a member of a gang to be free from the nightmare of Hyon-Su and to accept the reality. One day, Sang-Hwan and other new gang members fought for other gang. Suk-Hwan hears about the fight and comes to the fighting place.
Films
Hibernation
1999 Directed by Chul-Yoon Jung. Video
Korean with English subtitles. 15min
In the near future during a severe economic crisis in Asia, an unemployed couple is expecting their first baby. However, without enough money to raise the child, they decide to follow the government's recommendation.
Amanita Mus caria
1999 Directed by Jung-Seok Yeum. Video
Korean with English subtitles. 10min
The only thing Gil Dong's sister wants for her birthday is to be allowed to die peacefully as she wastes away in a hospital bed. But Gil Dong is willing to sacrifice everything to keep her alive.
Subway Kids
1999 Directed by Il-Jeong Son. Video
Korean with English subtitles. 15min
Fighting of Subway 1&3 kids for their territories and the hopeless love story of Zzang & Sohee.
Four Million Blows
1999 Directed by Jung-Hyun Yoo. Video
Korean with English subtitles. 16min
Yellow head hits Jung Hyun badly per rest time. Resisted Jung Hyun, however, Jung Hyun's face is keeping broken on and on. But he starts to sleep during so much time at night working time.
Family
2000 Directed by In-Moo Huh. Video
Korean with English subtitles. 23min
A long time ago, the family was happy. But as time passed, they ceased to talk openly to one another. They then tried to chase a new, special life, but they failed.
Sunflower Blues
1999 Directed by Min-Han Kim. Video
Korean with English subtitles. 35min
A young woman, Soonim, sees a psychiatrist due to her depression from her unsuccessful love affair. Doo Sik, a man of few words, is going to go somewhere for drug-dealing as usual.
Seminars
We will hold an academic forum in which five media specialists will discuss contemporary Korean cinema, addressing the topic of "Globalization and Media Culture in Korea." Each panelist above will address how "Globalization", the main theme of the development of Korea from the early 1990's, affects contemporary Korean film. Specifically, the implications of technical, institutional, aesthetic, economic, and political changes on contemporary Korean cinema will be examined, as panelists will give their perspectives to the topic as critics, professors, directors, and producers. After presenting, each panelist will hold a follow-up discussion under the title of "Talks with New Korean Cinema Leaders" to further discuss issues raised by the presentation.
This academic forum hopes to provide a great opportunity to experience and understand Korean film and culture. KIMA is looking forward to an enthusiastic response and participation from media scholars and students.
Title: Globalization and Media Culture in Korea
Panelists :
Kyung-Wook Kim : Critic and professor, Magazine KINO, "Contemporary trends in Korean cinema" (20 min)
Hyun Cheol Choi : Professor, Mass Communications, Korea University, "Capitalist control in Korean Media Industry" (20 min)
Jae Hyung Jung : Professor, Film Studies, Dongguk University, "Aesthetic Approaches to Contemporary Korean Cinema" (20 min)
Ji-Young Chung : Film director and Professor, Theater and Film, Sun-Chun-Hyang University, "Korean cinema and Screen Quota system" (20 min)
Chun Yeon Lee : CEO of Cine 2000 (Film Production), "Prospectus of Korean Film Industry: A Producer's Perspective"
Respondent :
Aaron Magnan-Park: Lecturer, Cinema and Comparative Literature, University of Iowa
Organizer :
Chul Heo: Assistant Professor, Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts, San Francisco State University
Talks with New Cinema Leaders
The main theme of the KIMA Film Festival is "New Cinema in Korea". For one hour and twenty minutes, there will be an informal discussion session with some of the major players in Korean Media and Film. They include veteran and up-and-coming directors and CEOs of major film production companies in Korea. There will also be famous Korean actors and actresses.
First, there will be a brief introduction of cinema leaders in Korea. It will be followed by an introduction to the history of Korean Film. Then, there will be a discussion session between the audience and the cinema leaders. The discussions will cover various topics on Koran Media and Film.
This will be a great opportunity for these cinema leaders to present their creative works to the American audience so that they may have a better understanding of Korean Media and Film. Furthermore, it will also be a great experience for these cinema leaders to hear various opinions from the audience. The audience will have a better understanding of these Korean films by actually talking with their creators.
This session will provide another opportunity to expose the American audience to the unique and exotic beauty of Korean Media and Film Art. This event will also help identify the problems and solutions that Korean Media and Film industries are facing as Korea enters a new era in high-tech production.
Ji-Young Chung: Film director, "White Badge"
Chun Yeon Lee: CEO of Cine 2000 (Major Film Production Company)
Ye-Jin Park: Actress, "Momento Mori"
