12th New York Korean Film Festival

The 12th New York Korean Film Festival

When: November 20 - 23, 2014

Where: BAM Rose Cinema

30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn NY

Map

Tickets

The New York Korean film festival is back in business! That's right. What Subway Cinema started in 2001 with When Korean Cinema Attacks! – New York Korean Film Festival, and what has known many incarnations and iterations since then, is back in the funky and freaky curatorial hands of the festival's original creators, now joining forces with BAMCinematek and the Korea Society to bring you the freshest crop of the record-breaking blockbusters and the must-see recent works of the peninsula's internationally celebrated auteurs and mavericks. The new New York Korean Film Festival wants to serve as your road map for the best in contemporary Korean cinema.

All films in Korean with English subtitles.

Thursday, November 20
- 7:15 PM GYEONGJU with Q&A with director Zhang Lu
Friday, November 21
- 7:00 PM THE ATTORNEY
- 9:30 PM A HARD DAY
Saturday, November 22
- 7:00 PM THE ADMIRAL: ROARING CURRENTS
- 9:30 PM MAN ON HIGH HEELS
Sunday, November 23
- 5:00 PM THE PIRATES
- 8:00 PM FUTURELESS THINGS 

For film descriptions and to order tickets, click here.

ACF 1811: Park Chan­-wook Retrospective @ MoMI

Park Chan­-wook Retrospective @ MoMI 

Friday, March 1 ­through Sunday, March 3

The Museum of Moving Image

3601 35th Avenue, Astoria

Travel directions here

Park Chan­-wook, a director, screenwriter, and producer, is one of the most acclaimed filmmakers on the international film circuit. To celebrate the release of Stoker, his major directorial debut in Hollywood, The Korea Society and MoMI will be co­presenting a retrospective of his work. He debuted with Moon is the Sun's Dream in 1992, but started to gain international recognition from the sensational movie J.S.A.: Joint Security Area in 2000, which The Guardian praised as “airy, subtle and playful, and showcases the best elements of modern Asian cinema.” In addition, the Vengeance trilogy garnered praise from the New York Times: “so much talent on display.” But ‘Old Boy’ would be his most famous and acclaimed film ever, achieving the Grand Jury Award at Cannes. Director Park is well­known for the flamboyant colors and glitzy cinematography throughout his films.

Stoker

Thursday, February 28 @ 7:00 PM

2013, 98 min.

Courtesy of Fox Searchlight.

With Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode. 

The eagerly awaited new film by director Park Chan­-wook is an English ­language thriller rife with the sort of style and atmosphere that makes his other movies nothing short of modern classics of the genre. This special screening, followed by a discussion with Park Chan-wook.

Oldboy

Friday, March 1@ 7:00 PM

2003, 120 min.

Old Boy tells the story of a man who is locked in a room for over decade without knowing the reason. After he gets out of the cell, he tries to find the answer. Since it won the "Grand Jury" award a Cannes in 2004, it has been selected one of the best movies ever made by numerous prestigious film magazines and critics.

Shorts Program:

Saturday, March 2 @ 3:00 PM

Never Ending Peace and Love

2003, 28 min.

An illegal foreign worker is subject to peoples’ ignorance and indifference.

Cut (from Three Extremes)

2004, 30 min.

Young and rich, with a beautiful wife, he lacks nothing until an intruder appears in the night.

Night Fishing

2011, 33min.

Winner of the Best Short Film­Golden Bear Award at Berlin International Film Festival 2011. Park Chan-­wook shot this film with an iPhone 4 with his brother/co­director Park Chan­k-young.

J.S.A.: Joint Security Area

Saturday, March 2 @ 6:00 PM

Based on the novel by Park Sang-­yeon, Joint Security Area is considered one of the best­made films describing the political and military tension between North and South Korea.

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance

Saturday, March 3 @ 3:00 PM

2002, 121 min.

Desperate to pay for his sister’s kidney operation. Ryu kidnaps his wealthy boss’ daughter. The kidnapping goes away, Ryu and his girlfriend struggle to run away from a father bent on vengeance.

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance

Sunday, March 3 @ 6:00 PM

2005, 112 min.

Geum­ja is imprisoned for thirteen years for allegedly murdering a six­year­old boy. In prison, she wins over hell cell mates’ sympathies. When she’s released, she begins a meticulous plan for vengeance.

More information is available at www.koreasociety.org/arts/film/ & http://www.movingimage.us/films/

Schedule

Friday, March 1

Old Boy, 7:00 PM

Saturday, March 2

Park Chan­wook Shorts Program, 3:00 PM

- Never Ending Peace and Love

- Cut (from Three Extremes)

- Night Fishing

J.S.A.:Joint Security Area, 6:00 PM

Sunday, March 3

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, 3:00 PM

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, 6:00 PM

And don't forget the 11th New York Korean Film Festival (NYKFF), co-presented by The Korea SOciety and Bamcinematek, which starts tomorrow, Friday, February 22 and runs through Sunday the 24th.

ACF 989: The Urge for Survival: Kaneto Shindo retrospective starts today at BAM

Photo courtesy of Kindai Eiga Kyokai Co., Ltd.

New York - Tokyo has announced that the national tour of the much anticipated Kaneto Shindo retrospective will kick off at BAMcinématek in Brooklyn starting today. From April 22 to May 5, BAMcinématek and actor Benicio Del Toro, in partnership with agnès B and the Japan Foundation, will present The Urge for Survival: Kaneto Shindo.

This 11-film touring retrospective of the Japanese director and screenwriter's diverse and fascinating oeuvre. Features include the North American premiere of Shindo's newest film, Postcard and a week-long runs of new 35mm prints of Children of Hiroshima (in its US theatrical premiere) and The Naked Island. Del Toro and Jiro Shindo, the director's son, will appear in person on April 22. For more details & ticket info, click here.

First a screenwriter, then an apprentice to Mizoguchi, Kaneto Shindo has since built one of the most richly diverse portfolios in Japanese film history—from humanistic docu-dramas and expressionistic ghost stories to erotic tales of sex. On the occasion of Shindo’s 99th birthday on April 22nd and the North American premiere of his newest (and self-declared last) film Postcard, longtime fan Benicio Del Toro will present some of the director’s finest work.

ACF 706: Final screening of BESTSELLER at BAM as part of NYKFF 2010

Bestseller
Written and directed by Lee Jeong-ho
With Uhm Jung-hwa, Ryoo Seung-yong, Lee Do-Yeong
South Korea, 2010, 117 min.
NYKFF screenings mark film's New York Premiere
Final Screening: BAM Rose Cinema
Friday, October 1, 2010 @ 9:15 PM

Already shown twice at MoMA, this Friday's screening at BAM marks the third and final showing of the terrific mystery/thriller/horror tour de force at the New York Korean Film Festival 2010. For full info about the festival's complete lineup and schdule, click here.

Summary:
After suffering a breakdown, a successful writer rents a house in the countryside for herself and her young daughter. The daughter soon befriends a talkative "presence" in the house, and regales her mother with this new friend's stories. But when the mother starts writing the stories down, bad things begin to happen.

ACF mini-review:
Although it's not my favorite genre, I really enjoyed this film. The female writer has to deal with charges of plagiarism. In the course of trying to write a new book in a large villa near a rural town, she starts losing her mind while getting visions of a horrible incident that took place there years ago. The use of rapid fire editing at certain times really ups the anxiety ante. It's a gripping thriller with fantastic plot twists, and the entire cast is top rate. (Most fortunately there are no young girls with long straight black hair falling down in front of their faces, a cliche that has long ago lost its appeal.)

ACF Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars, highly recommended.

ACF 688: New York Korean Film Festival starts tomorrow, September 22nd!!!!

Image from The Housemaid, directed by Im Sang-soo

In my previous posts about the Yeonghwa film series at MoMA, which is co-presented by The Korea Society, I forgot to mention that it actually is the beginning of the return of the New York Korean Film festival for its ninth year. Furthermore, the screenings at MoMA will be followed by some at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). Details and links follow:

The New York Korean Film Festival (NYKFF) is the foremost North American festival dedicated to showcasing the work of both mainstream and independent Korean cinema. Since its inception in 2001, NYKFF has established its own unique identity as a prestigious event on the world film circuit. Not only does the festival screen contemporary films, it also features panel discussions with directors and other leading figures in the world of Korean cinema.

This year, NYKFF audiences will be able to view some of the best of contemporary Korean cinema from September 22-30 at MoMa and October 1-3 at Bam Rose Cinema. Ranging from action to comedy, sci-fi to horror, to genre-bending altogether, this year's films represent not only Korea's top box-office hits but also some of the industry's most creative and substantial movies to date.

All films will be shown in the original Korean with English subtitles.

For my post with the full screening schedule at MoMA, click here.

For The Korea Society's website about New York Korean Film Festival, click here.