ACF 146: Lee Chang-dong's next project anounced

Director Lee Chang-dong and myself prior to the screening of his film Oasis at Asia Society in New York this past May.

In my May 3rd email interview with Korean director Lee Chang-dong [see next to last link at the end of this posting], he declined to comment on his next project, saying only, "There's something I'm thinking about. But I don't think it's the right time to reveal it yet."

Well, the time has apparently arrived according to a recent article in VarietyAsiaOnline.com [link also below]. Lee's next project, which he will produce and direct is entitled "Poetry." It's about a woman looking for meaning as the end of her life approaches.

Filming is to start at the end of 2008, and while the cast has not yet been announced, consider the following:

- Moon So-ri won honors at the Venice Film Festival and the Seattle International FIlm Festival for her role as a young woman with cerebral palsy in Lee's Oasis (2002).

- Jeon Do-yeon won awards at the Cannes Film Festival, the Asian Film Awards, the Blue Dragon Awards, the South Korea Grand Bell Awards for her role as Shin-ae, the grief-stricken mother in his Secret Sunshine (2007).

I'd say this track record of actresses in Lee's last two films bodes extremely well for whoever is selected for the lead role in "Poetry."

If you've read any of my previous writings about Lee here at AsianCineFest or in Asian Cult Cinema magazine, you know that I think extremely highly of him. Though he's only directed four films to date, they've all been so good (especially Oasis and Secret Sunshine, the most recent two) that I regard him as one of world cinema's all-time great director's.

Believe me when I say that I'll be making every effort to see "Poetry" as soon as I can.

Read Patrick Frater's full article at VarietyAsiaOnline.com.

My e-mail interview with Lee Chang-dong is in ACF 108.

I wrote about Lee Chang-dong's recent film retrospective in ACF 109.