Up Coming Film Events & News

<2012 Korean Film Nights: Year of the 12 Directors> 

Director Lee Myung-se successfully kicks off the year-long program:

-Meets with an audience of 100 K-pop fans, film critics, bloggers, etc

-Director Lee Myung-se, “Films are a visual representation of the mise en scene encapsulated by stories and visuals”

-Korean films’ have now confirmed their place in the British market

-Audiences’ excitement to meet 12 Korean film directors over the next year

As London prepares for the forthcoming Olympics, the Korean Cultural Centre UK celebrates this remarkable year by inviting 12 Korean Film Directors to the UK to host special screenings of their favourite works. Director LEE Myung se kicked off this special programme with the film ‘The Dualist’ at london’s Apollo Cinema, Picadilly.

The screening of Director Lee Myung-se’s film and a Q&A session with the Director himself took place on Thursday 26th January 2012. . For each monthly showcase, three films will be screened for free at the Korean Cultural Centre UK, followed by the final Gala screening with the Director himself at Apollo Cinemas(Piccadilly Circus, London).  The intimate Q+A with 100 guests  included K-pop fans, professional film critics and bloggers and the editor of BBC. This event and the excitement for the rest of the programme confirms Korean films’ success in the British market. In particularly, the anticipation created by bringing Director LEE to the UK was encapsulated through 5 separate interviews with professional magazine editors and Internet journalists that took place prior the screening and Q&A session.

During the Q&A session (presented by Daniel Martin, Queens Belfast University) Director Lee Myung-se, who is currently filming his next film ‘Mr.K’ (which he describes as the Korean version of 007), shared his philosophy of films – describing films to be “a visual representation of the mise en scene encapsulated by stories and visuals”. Moreover, Director Lee expressed his affection for filmmaking, stating that he “aims to convey a story that shows the strength of the screen through the mere movements of the camera and actors”.

Furthermore, Director Lee described films to be a universal language that people cannot help but connect with. He also described his feelings of disappointment towards the preconceptions of Korean films that are being distributed internationally and hopes that a variety of different genres of Korean films can be distributed in the international market in the future.

Throughout 2012, the Korean Film Night will dedicate a month of the year to a Korean director, screening 4 of their films (Director Im Kwon-taek’s retrospective will include 15 of his films), with a total of 59 films. The final week of the month will culminate in a screening of the directors’ film in a cinema in London’s city centre, providing an opportunity to maximise audience involvement and participation. The event aims to provide the opportunity for professional British film critics to engage in a Q&A session with the directors themselves; and allows the audience to better understand the director’s visions of the filmic world. The 2012 Korean Film Night will no doubt provide a meaningful gift for Korean film fans in the UK.

‘The Korean Film Night: Year of the 12 Directors’ with each showcase will convey the transformation of modern Korea and the individual field that each director has generated - including a retrospective of Director Im Kwon-taek, known to be a living witness and symbol of Korea’s film industry.

Director Lee Myung-se (January) – who creates his own aesthetics through unique visuals; Director E J-yong (February) - the director who is broadening Korea’s film genres through a sophisticated range of films like Dasepo Naughty Girls and ‘Actressess’; Director Park Kwang-su (March) – a significant director who introduced a new wave in the Korean film industry after the 1980s; the director who opened the stage to Busan’s International Film Festival in 2011 with his film ‘Always’ - Director Song Il-gon (April); Director Jeon Kye-soo (May) who will visit London with the release of his new film in February called ‘Love Fiction’; Director Lee Joon-ik (June), who has directed the most films in the mainstream Korean film industry for the past 10 years; a director who is renowned for his design elements and strong colour as an ‘art director’ – Director Lee Hyun-seung (July); the director who is well-known for his unique style of direction – Director Lee Yoon-gi (August); the director who brought to life the lives of the young demographic through his film ‘Baranasi’, for which he was invited again to the Berlin International Film Festival in 2012  – Director Jeon Kyu-hwan (September); a director who portrays the subtleness of masculine beauty – Director Song Hae-song (November) and; the only female director participating in this event – Director Lim Seoon-rye (December). Through the screening of films from a wide range of genres and from directors who represent their generation, the event aspires to reach out to the British public, allowing professional lecturers and film critics to provide their own commentary about Korean films, and also allowing the general UK public to understand Korea’s social context.

Over the years, British audiences have become accustomed to Korean films featuring horror and thriller. However, this program will bring forth a richer and abundant range of Korean films from directors who portray the unique perspectives and genres of a modern Korea.

Furthermore, the monthly brochure is not merely a brochure that shows the program list but provides detailed information about the films and directors. A total of 12 brochures will be put together and is a must-have collection item for all Korean film lovers.

In addition to the 5000 registered members who want to watch Korean films through the film night there are approximately 1000 more people who added their names to that list in 2011 and thus the popularity of Korean films has increased significantly not only in London but also in the European and global market.

In addition to screening films, we have organised more strategic plans for further distribution of Korean contents and various events such as information evenings about the historical background of films; hands-on experience based on various themes; and Korean food samplings, thus introducing a different angle of Korean culture in a natural and more comfortable environment.

‘The 2012 Korean Film Night’ (planned by Artistic Director Hye Jung Jeon) aims to encourage audiences to become PR representatives for Korean films through sharing reviews and social networks about Korean films. We also wish to increase the quality.

The Korean Film Night: Year of the 12 Directors

The KCCUK Film night has extended to four screenings per month, with special monthly Q&A screening featuring some of Korea's leading directors.

The KCCUK kick this special year off with a a look at director Lee Myung-se with four screenings of the director's work culminating with a Q&A with the director himself.

Click here for more information

Lee Myung-se Q&A

The KCCUK Film Night has now been extended to four screenings per month, with the final screening of the month taking place at cinema venues across London and featuring special Q&A screenings with Korea's leading Film Directors.

We kick off this extra special year with a look at the work of Director Lee Myung-se with three screenings at the KCCUK (Tickets Free: Booking Required) followed by the final screening of the month featuring a Q&A with the Director himself. (Details + Ticket Prices below).

The Screening/Q+A on January 26th with Director LEE will be hosted Dr. Daniel Martin. (At Apollo Cinema Piccadilly Circus, Ticket: 10.00 GBP/ Student 8.00 GBP. Tickets for the screening can be booked via the Apollo website).

www.apollocinemas.com

2011 Festival Review

The 2011 London Korean Film Festival was an overwhelming success. In total, the Festival saw audience figures rise by 17.4% with a total of 4,753 visitors.

9 films including:  'War of the Arrow', 'Late Autumn' and 'Yellow Sea’ all sold out almost immediately. The buzz that grew around the Festival this year was very strong, with a staggering 260 news articles and online media covering both the Festival and Korean pop culture in the UK.

The London Korean Film Festival 2011 has extended its scale and built a broad spectrum of events for audiences to engage in including a K-Pop concert, a cinema Masterclass and the Korean Cinema Forum along with the screenings themselves. Korean cinema is growing a fan base across the UK and this year films were also screened in Sheffield, Cambridge and Newcastle to great acclaim.

The London Korean Film Festival 2011 has come to an end. It has been an amazing three weeks jam packed with a variety of films, interesting Q&As, insightful cinema forums, and a SHINee concert! This year’s festival continued to highlight the very best Korean cinema and included the ambitious Ryoo Seung-wan retrospective, showcasing his complete filmography.

We’ve received a lot of positive feedback and we hope you have been inspired by the festival and continue to watch and love Korean films. As you may know, we will screen fortnightly Korean film nights on the second and the fourth Thursdays of every month at the Korean Cultural Centre. We would like to warmly thank all who have joined us to watch films, the filmmakers, guests, and all those who have worked to make the festival a success this year. If you are already missing the atmosphere of the events, you can check out our youtube video and great flickr photos online. We will see you all next year and once again thank you for your passionate support!