All articles by Jean Noh – Page 79
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Features
China - Felling tales in the digital age
In the winter of 2004, Yu Guangyi entered the snowy forests of Black Bear Valley to record the lives of some of China's last lumberjacks. He spent four months, shooting with a single Sony PD150, a documentary that captures the dangerous and arduous nature of their work as well as ...
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News
Bong Joon-ho begins shoot on his part of Tokyo omnibus
The Host director Bong Joon-ho this week started shooting Shaking Tokyo, starring Japanese actress Aoi Yu as his segment of the multinational Tokyo omnibus. Following in the steps of Paris Je T'aime, the Tokyo project has three directors - Bong, Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), and Leos ...
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News
Korea's nTorino scores $2m pre-sale to Japan
Korean investor nTorino Corp has announced the $2m pre-sale of the film Sookmyung (original title) to Japan's Formula Entertainment. The film features pan-Asian stars Kwon Sang-woo (Once Upon A Time In High School), Song Seung-hun (Make It Big) and Ji Sung (Blood Rain) in a story of four friends who ...
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News
Yang named as PIFF Asian Filmmaker of the Year
The Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) has named the recently deceased Taiwanese director Edward Yang as Asian Filmmaker of the Year. The festival also announced that the Korean Cinema Award will go to Sabrina Baracetti of the Udine Far East Film Festival and Jean Francois Rauger of the Cinematheque Francaise. ...
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Pusan unveils slate of 27 projects to receive ACF backing
The Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) has announced the 27 projects that will receive backing from its recently-established Asian Cinema Fund (ACF). The fund provides support for Asian documentaries and independent feature films in all stages of production to the total amount of $840,000, with matching funds and/or services provided ...
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News
Pusan Promotion Plan selects 35 projects for 10th edition
The Pusan Promotion Plan (PPP) has announced the line-up for its tenth anniversary edition. 35 projects from 18 countries have made the final cut, out of more than 200 submissions. Once again the PPP mixes masters and newcomers, including Cannes Camera D'Or winner Bahman Ghobadi, Berlinale Silver Bear winner Wang ...
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News
Showbox boards Lee Jun-ik's Vietnam War drama
Major Korean investor and distributor Showbox Mediaplex has signed with hit director Lee Jun-ik to back and distribute his upcoming Nimeun Mon Gotsae (original title), a $7.5m film set during the Vietnam War. In the film, a woman joins a troupe of entertainers sent to build soldiers' morale in Vietnam ...
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News
Korean ad agency Hancomm launches content fund
Korean advertising agency Hancomm, a subsidiary of Korea 's 16th-ranked conglomerate Hanhwa Corp, has announced a $13m fund for cultural content - 70% of which will be used for films. The fund will also invest in television dramas and performances. Among others joining the fund are Hanhwa Venture Capital Corp, ...
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News
Korean film exports down by 57% in first six months
Korean film exports in the first half of the year dropped by 57% compared to the same period in 2006, according to figures from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). In total, 148 films were sold to 45 countries for a total of $7.48m in the past six months. The decrease ...
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News
CinDi fest gives top prizes to Lumberjacks, Elephant
The inaugural Cinema Digital Seoul Film Festival (CinDi), which has a focus on discovering new Asian talent, closed July 27 with both the Directors' and Critics' juries giving the best film award jointly to the same two films - Yu Guangyi's The Last Lumberjacks and Woo Ming Jin's The Elephant ...
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News
Korean film orgs pledge to co-operate as investment falls
Ten Korean film industry organisations, headed by the Korean Film Producers' Association (KFPA), issued the 'Korean Film Industry's Great Compromise Declaration' in Seoul this week. KFPA head Tcha Seung-jai, who is also head of major production house Sidus FNH, was joined by representatives from each sector of the industry - ...
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News
Japan's Avex signs on for Korean comedy Highway Star
Korea 's Studio2.0 has sold musical comedy Highway Star to Avex Entertainment for Japan. A remake of Japanese film Enka No Hanamichi, the film tells the story of a wanna-be rocker who ends up singing Trot (Korean country-style music) behind a mask and becoming a star. Launched into pan-Asian popularity ...
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News
Korea's Sidus FNH to move into distribution
Major Korean production house Sidus FNH has announced it will start distributing its own films late this year. The company's first self-distributed film looks likely to be romantic comedy Yong-eui-judo Miss Shin (original title) about a rich and accomplished young woman who goes about selecting a husband the same way ...
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News
Lynch's Empire kicks off Korea's inaugural CinDi film festival
The first Cinema Digital Film Festival (CinDi) opened on Friday (July 20) with a screening of David Lynch's Inland Empire. With a view to spotlighting new Asian directors working in the digital medium, the festival has a competition section of 20 films (see list below) vying for awards and a ...
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News
Thai thriller 13 takes top prize at PiFan
South Korea 's Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan) held its closing ceremony yesterday (July 19), with the top award going to Thai film 13 by Chookiet Sakveerakul. A psychological thriller noted for its engaging script about a salesman who enters into a high-stakes adventure game, the film also picked ...
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News
Macquarie consortium acquires Korea's Megabox circuit
Major Korean studio Mediaplex has announced the $159m sale of the country's third most successful multiplex chain Megabox to a consortium, Korea Multiplex Investment Corporation (KMIC), led by Australian banking group Macquarie. Megabox comprises a total of 19 theatres and 155 screens nationwide, with scores that follow those of top ...
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News
International box office - Local Figures on the slide
Leading South Korean exhibitor CJ CGV has released statistics for the first half of the year, which place the market share of local films at 47.3%, the lowest since 2001 and down from 59.5% for the same period last year.Local film market share in Seoul - traditionally lower than nationwide ...
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News
Korean cable company takes control of MK Pictures
South Korean producer-investor-distributor MK Pictures has sold a controlling stake to regional cabler Kangwon Networks. In deals totalling $16.3m, major stockholder Lee Eun sold his 11.76% stake, while his wife and partner Shim Jae-myung sold her 6.54%, both to Kangwon head Kim Young-kyun. Another founder of the company, filmmaker Kang ...
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News
Korean films lose market share in first half of 2007
Leading South Korean exhibitor CJ CGV has released statistics for the first half of the year, which place the market share of local films at 47.3%, the lowest since 2001 and down from 59.5% for the same period last year. Local film market share in Seoul - traditionally lower than ...
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News
Korea's Megabox opens its first cinema in Beijing
Major South Korean exhibitor Megabox Mediaplex opened its first multiplex in Beijing yesterday (July 4). Billed as a '5-star modern multiplex cinema', the Beijing Megabox is the first internationally co-owned theatre in the capital. With eight screens and 1,700 seats, the cinema boasts a VIP and membership system, and internet ...