Hangul Celluloid: The London Korean Film Festival 2014

SCHEDULE

LKFF INTERVIEWS

AT THE FESTIVAL

LKFF2014 - Films screening, already reviewed - Friday Nov 14:

Kim Ki-duk’s controversial 'Moebius’ (뫼비우스) will be screened as part of the London Korean Film Festival 2014 on Frday November 14 (at Odeon Covent Garden): http://www.odeon.co.uk/films/kff_2014_moebius/15634/

You can read the Hangul Celluloid review of 'Moebius' at:
http://www.hangulcelluloid.com/moebius.html

'Cold Eyes' will be screened as part of the London Korean Film Festival 2014 (plus Q&A with actor Jung Woo-sung) on Friday November 14, Odeon West End: http://www.odeon.co.uk/films/kff_2014_cold_eyes/15635/

You can read the Hangul Celluloid review of the film at: http://www.hangulcelluloid.com/coldeyes.html

LKFF2014 - Films screening, already reviewed - Tuesday Nov 11:

Kim Ki-duk’s ‘Crocodile’ (악어 / 1996) will be screened as part of the London Korean Film Festival 2014 on Tuesday November 11 at the KCCUK: http://www.kccuk.org.uk

You can read the Hangul Celluloid review of the film (as part of the Arirang/Crocodile DVD boxset) at: http://www.hangulcelluloid.com/arirangcrocodile.html

LKFF2014 - Films screening, already reviewed - Monday Nov 10:

Lee Jae-han’s ‘A Moment to Remember’ (내 머리 속의 지우개 / 2004 / starring Son Ye-jin and Jung Woo-sung) will be screened as part of the London Korean Film Festival 2014 on Monday November 10 at the KCCUK: http://www.kccuk.org.uk/navigator.do?menuCode=201104050063&action=VIEW&seq=00000000895

You can read the Hangul Celluloid review of the film at: http://www.hangulcelluloid.com/momenttoremember.html

LKFF2014 - Films screening, reviews/inyterviews - Sunday Nov 9:

Kim Seong-hun’s ‘A Hard Day’ (끝까지 간다) will be screened as part of the London Korean Film Festival 2014 on Sunday November 9 at the Odeon West End: http://www.odeon.co.uk/films/kff_2014_a_hard_day/15619/

You can read the recent Hangul Celluloid interview with director Kim at: http://www.hangulcelluloid.com/kimseonghuninterview.html

LKFF2014 - Films screening, already reviewed - Saturday Nov 8:

Lee Chang-dong’s ‘Poetry’ / 시 (+Q&A with producer Lee Jun-dong) will be screened as part of the London Korean Film Festival 2014 on Saturday Nov 8 at the Odeon West End: http://www.odeon.co.uk/films/kff_2014_poetry/15614/

You can read the Hangul Celluloid review of the film at: http://www.hangulcelluloid.com/poetry.html

Kim Dae-woo’s ‘Obsessed’ (인간중독) will be screened as part of the London Korean Film Festival 2014 on Saturday Nov 8 at the Odeon Kingston cinema: http://www.odeon.co.uk/films/kff_2014_obsessed/15616/

You can read the Hangul Celluloid review of the film at: http://www.hangulcelluloid.com/obsessed.html

LKFF2014 - Films screening, already reviewed - Friday Nov 7:

Kim Ki-duk’s ‘Pieta’ (피에타) will be screened as part of the London Korean Film Festival on Friday Nov 7 at the Odeon West End.
Tickets for the screening can be booked at: http://www.odeon.co.uk/films/kff_2014_pieta/15608/

You can read the Hangul Celluloid review of the film at: http://www.hangulcelluloid.com/pieta.html

LKFF2014: Alteration to the festival screening programme:

The London Korean Film Festival has announced a slight alteration to the screening programme of this year's festival. The change is as follows (text courtesy of the #LKFF2014):

"The originally planned screening of The Divine Move + The Killer Behind, the Old Man + Q&A with Jung Woo-Sung on 15 Nov (12:40pm) has been replaced with the screening of Haemoo. And we can no longer screen The Divine Move due to an unforeseen complication with its distribution company.

We are still showing The Killer Behind, the Old Man (directed by Jung Woo-sung) after Cold Eyes on 14 November at 7pm, which will be followed by Q&A with Jung Woo-sung on 14 November starting at 7pm."

I have already included these new details in the full screening schedule which can be found further down on this page

LKFF2014: Odeon cinema tickets now available:

Tickets for Odeon West End screenings of the 2014 London Korean Film Festival are now available for purchase on the Odeon's website at:
http://www.odeon.co.uk/cinemas/london_west_end/139/
(Type KFF into the search bar on the above Odeon Cinema page to access a dropdown menu of available Korean Film Festival screenings, or alternatively search for specific titles)

Tickets for screenings taking place at the Odeion Kingston cinema can be booked at:
http://www.odeon.co.uk/cinemas/kingston/102/
(The same search method can be used as that detailed for Odeon West End)

London Korean Film Festival 2014 - Official Trailer:

Full official schedule for the London Korean Film Festival 2014:

Date	Time	Contents	Director	Venues
Thur 6 Nov	7pm	Opening Gala: Kundo: Age of the Rampant + Q & A with director Yoon Jong-bin , actor Gang Dong-won and producer Han Jae-duk	Yoon Jong-bin	Odeon West End (Screen 2)
Fri 7 Nov	4pm	K-Forum on Film Producing (speakers: Lee Jun-dong and Han Jae-duk / moderator: Nik Powell)	?	Korean Cultural Centre UK
	6pm	Pieta	Kim Ki-duk	Odeon West End (Screen 1)
	6:30pm	Kundo: Age of the Rampant + Q & A director Yoon Jong-bin , actor Gang Dong-won and producer Han Jae-duk	Yoon Jong-bin	Odeon Kingston (Screen 14)
	8:20pm	A Girl at My Door + Q & A with director July Jung, producer Lee Jun-dong and BIFF's programmer Nam Dong-chul	July Jung	Odeon West End (Screen 1)
Sat 8 Nov	1:30pm	Hwayi: A Monster Boy + Q & A with producer Lee Jun-dong	Jang Joon-Hwan	Odeon West End (Screen 1)
	2pm	Hill of Freedom	Hong Sangsoo	Odeon Covent Garden (Screen 2)
	4pm	Han Gong-ju + Q & A with BIFF's programmer Nam Dong-chul	Lee Sujin	Odeon Covent Garden (Screen 2)
	5pm	Poetry + Q & A with producer Lee Jun-dong	Lee Changdong	Odeon West End (Screen 1)
	7:30pm	Alive	Park Jungbum	Odeon Covent Garden (Screen 2)
	8pm	Obsessed	Kim Dae-woo	Odeon Kingston (Screen 10)
	8:40pm	Man in Love	Han Dong-wook	Odeon West End (Screen 1)
Sun 9 Nov	2pm	The Target	Chang	Odeon Covent Garden (Screen 2)
	2pm	A Hard Day	Kim Seong-hun	Odeon West End (Screen 1)
	4pm	Mise-en-scene Shorts 1	?	Korean Cultural Centre UK
	4:30pm	10 Minutes + Introduction by BIFF's programmer Nam Dong-chul	Lee Seung-yong	Odeon Covent Garden (Screen 2)
	5pm	One on One + Introduction by Anton Bitel	Kim Ki-duk	Odeon West End (Screen 1)
	6:40pm	Mise-en-scene Shorts 2	?	Korean Cultural Centre UK
	7pm	Pascha	Ahn Seon-kyoung	Odeon Covent Garden (Screen 2)
	8pm	Obsessed	Kim Dae-woo	Odeon West End (Screen 1)
	9:00pm	Mise-en-scene Shorts 3	?	Korean Cultural Centre UK
Mon 10 Nov	6:30pm	Neighbors	Shin Sojeong, Son Tae Gyum & Kim Heejin	Odeon Covent Garden (Screen 2)
	7pm	Moment to Remember	Lee Jae-han	Korea Cultural Centre UK
	8:30pm	Manshin Q & A with director Park Chan-kyong	Park Chan-kyong	Odeon Covent Garden (Screen 2)
Tue 11 Nov	2pm	The Fake	Yeon Sangho	Covent Garden (Screen 2)
	6:30pm	Bitter, Sweet, Seoul + Q & A with director Park Chan-kyong	PARKing CHANce	Odeon Covent Garden (Screen 2)
	7pm	Crocodile	Kim Ki-duk	Korea Cultural Centre UK
	8:30pm	Under the Sky of Seoul	Lee Hyung-pyo	Odeon Covent Garden (Screen 2)
Wed 12 Nov	2pm	The Road called Life	Ahn Jae-hun Han Hye-jin	Odeon Covent Garden (Screen 2)
	6:30pm	In Conversation with Park Chan-kyong	?	Korea Cultural Centre UK
	6:30pm	The King of Jokgu	Woo Moon-gi	Odeon Covent Garden (Screen 2)
	8pm	The Warrior	Kim Sung-su	Korea Cultural Centre UK
	8:30pm	Night Flight	Leesong Hee-il	Odeon Covent Garden (Screen 2)
Thur 13 Nov	6:30pm	I am Not a Hairdresser There is no Forest Faces Deaf and Wind	Lee Hyung-suk Kim Na-kyung Kim Minjun Hwang Kyu-il	Odeon Covent Garden (Screen 2)
	7:00pm	Haemoo	Shim Sung-bo	Odeon West End (Screen 1)
	6:30pm	Donghae & Eunhyuk (Super Junior) Concert + The Youth + Q & A with Super Junior (Donghae)	Kim Jin-moo Park Ga-hee Ju Seong-su Jeong Won-sik	Odeon West End (Screen 2)
	8pm	Gyeongju	Zhang Lu	Odeon Covent Garden (Screen 2)
	9:20pm	Man on High heels	Jang Jin	Odeon West End (Screen 1)
Fri 14 Nov	6:30pm	Moebius	Kim Ki-duk	Odeon Covent Garden (Screen 2)
	7:00pm	Cold Eyes + The Killer behind, the Old Man Q & A with actor Jung Woo-sung	Jo Ui-seok, Kim Byung-seo	Odeon West End (Screen 1)
	8:30pm	The Dinner	Kim Dong-hyun	Odeon Covent Garden (Screen 2)
Sat 15 Nov	1:00pm	Haemoo	Shim Sung-bo	Odeon West End (Screen 1)
Sat 15 Nov	7:00pm	Closing Gala: Revivre + Q & A with actor Ahn Sungki	Im Kwontaek	Odeon West End (Screen2)
Sun 16 Nov	5:30pm	Hill of Freedom	Hong Sangsoo	Norwich Cinema City
Mon 17 Nov	8:30pm	Han Gong-ju	Lee Sujin	Norwich Cinema City
Tue 18 Nov	7:45pm	Poetry	Lee Changdong	Hebden Bridge Picture House
Wed 19 Nov	7:45pm	A Girl at my Door	July Jung	Hebden Bridge Picture House
Thur 20 Nov	5:30pm	Manshin	Park Chan-kyong	Aberystwyth Arts Centre
Fri 21 Nov	8:15pm	Revivre	Im Kwontaek	Aberystwyth Arts Centre
Mon 10 Nov - Tue 9 Dec		The Housemaid	Kim Ki-young	mubi.com

First LKFF2014 Press Announcement (prior to full programme finalisation):

9TH LONDON KOREAN FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2014 PROGRAMME

(LONDON 6-15th NOVEMBER)

(UK TOUR 16th-21st NOVEMBER)

The London Korean Film Festival (LKFF) returns to the capital for the 9th annual edition, 6th -21st November. Presented by the Korean Cultural Centre UK, the 2014 programme gives audiences across the capital and select UK venues the very best of contemporary Korean Cinema from this year with over 50 screenings, including UK and European premieres of box office hits, critically acclaimed independent titles, and retrospective programmes spanning epic period action adventures, edge of your seat thrillers, romantic comedies, dramas, documentary and short films. The London Korean Film Festival also offers audiences unique access to the cream of Korean filmmaking talent including directors, producers, actors and programmers.

The LKFF continues to grow from strength to strength, showcasing both established and emerging talent in the Korean Film Industry. 2015 will mark the 10th edition of the Festival and this year’s programme is crucial in cementing LKFF’s position as an exciting and innovative festival within the UK film calendar, as well as setting the scene for next year’s 10th anniversary celebrations. The 2014 line up boasts a stellar programme of highly anticipated film titles and visiting big name guests.

The Odeon West End, in the heart of cinema-going London, will be the main home for the 2014 London Korean Film Festival. Additional venues include Odeon Covent Garden, Odeon Kingston and the Korean Cultural Centre. For fans of Korean cinema who are not in London, a selection of LKFF programme highlights will travel to Norwich, Hebden Bridge and Aberystwyth between 16th – 21st November.

The key strands for 2014 LKFF programme include:

K-Period Drama

BIFF’s Choice

K-Spotlight

K-Focus: Actor Jung Woo-sung

K-Focus: Producer Lee Jun-dong

K-Focus: Director Kim-Ki-duk

K-Literature & Webtoon

K-Actors

K-Classics

K-Shorts

The London Korean Film Festival opens on 6th November at the Odeon West End with KUNDO: AGE OF THE RAMPANT. Set in the mid-19th Century, in the last days of the corrupt Joseon Dynasty, KUNDO is a period action about a militia group of bandits – Kundo – who rise up against their unjust nobility stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. Directed by Yoon Jong-bin (NAMELESS GANGSTER: RULES OF THE TIME) this film boasts cracking action scenes and sweeping vistas, starring Ha Jung-woo (THE CHASER, NAMELESS GANGSTER: RULES OF THE TIME) and Kang Dong-won (MY BRILLIANT LIFE). In an interesting London link, the soundtrack for KUNDO by Cho Young Wuk (OLDBOY) was recorded and mixed at Abbey Road Studios by Sam Okell who mixed LORD OF THE RINGS. Director Yoon Jong-bin, lead actor Gang Dong-won and producer Han Jae-duk are confirmed to attend Opening Night.

K-Period Drama KUNDO: AGE OF THE RAMPANT is one example of this strand, showcasing the lavishly produced epic period dramas and action adventure titles, which have recently taken the Korean Box Office by storm.

Another highlight of this section includes Director Han Jae-rim (RULES OF DATING)’s elegant costume drama, THE FACE READER, which takes the ancient art of physiognomy as the central narrative device for this gripping tale of court intrigue. The film that stars Song Kang-ho (THE HOST, THIRST, SNOWPIERCER) and Lee Jung-jae (NEW WORLD, THE THIEVES) tells the story of the rise and fall of a young man from a disgraced noble family whose ability to read faces gets him caught up in the regal power struggle. A fortuneteller who reads people like an open book, he remains blind to the sea changes behind the corridors of power.

BIFF’s Choice, selected by the Busan International Film Festival programmer Nam Dong-chul, includes the multi-award winning feature debut from director Lee Su-jin, HANG GONG-JU, which has picked up prizes at major festivals including Busan, Rotterdam, Marrakesh and Deauville Asia Film Festival. After an undisclosed incident, a Korean teenage girl is transferred to another school, where she stays with the mother of her new teacher. She soon makes but the trauma from her past will not leave her in peace. The film boasts remarkably understated performances from the leads Chun Woo-hee (MOTHER, VAMPIRE IDOL) who plays the confused teenager and Jung In-sun (MEMORIES OF MURDER) and has been picked up for UK distribution by Third Window Films. Director Lee Yong-seung’s debut feature drama 10 MINUTES accurately encapsulates modern workplace dynamics complete with closed-door bickering and vicious after-hours chatter. When a popular worker Baek Jong-hwan (A HARD DAY) is passed over for promotion by a young woman Lee See-won, the balance of the office is upset, inspiring petty jealousy and gossip. BIFF Programmer Nam Dong-chul will be attending the Festival.

K-Spotlight celebrates some of the films this year that have been lauded with critical acclaim at film festivals at home and abroad, including exciting feature debuts. The South Korean city of Gyeongju is known for its hundreds of burial mounds, making this town with its head in the past a fitting backdrop for award-winning director Lu Zhang (DESERT DREAM, DOOMAN RIVER)’s exquisitely observed personal drama GYEONGJU which is about a Korean college professor living abroad in Beijing who takes a melancholy trip down memory lane when he comes back for a colleague’s funeral. The film which was recently screened at the Locarno Film Festival stars Park Hae-il (THE MUSE, BOOMERANG FAMILY) as the professor haunted by lingering questions from his past.

K-Focus: Actor Jung Woo-sung

Played by one of Korea’s biggest film stars Jung Woo-sung (THE GOOD,THE BAD, THE WEIRD), COLD EYES, is one of the highest grossing Korean films of the last year and features in a programme focusing on the popular actor’s work. COLD EYES is a high tech state-of-the-art Korean cop thriller which plays an exciting game with genre conventions. A remake of 2007 Hong Kong thriller EYE IN THE SKY, the film follows a crack police surveillance team who challenge a brilliant, invincible criminal mastermind. One of South Korea's most commercially successful films of the year, the star-studded action crime thriller, THE DIVINE MOVE also stars Jung Woo-sung as a professional baduk player, who infiltrates his local underground gambling scene to avenge his brother's death. Jung Woo-sung steps behind the camera to direct one episode of the portmanteau project THREE CHARMED LIVES, alongside actors turned directors Francis Ng and Chang Chen. Jung Woo-sung’s entry into this cinematic triptych; THE KILLER BEHIND THE OLD MAN stars Andy Choi as an ultra-methodical hitman who is reluctant to carry out a contract against a lonely elderly man, despite the client – the man’s son – doubling the fee. Jung blurs the line and creates tension between who is the subject/object and who is watching/being watched to great affect.

K-Focus: Producer Lee Jun-dong

Director July Jung previously won the Sonje Award at Busan for her short film A MAN UNDER THE INFLUENZA. Her feature debut, produced by Lee Jun-dong, A GIRL AT MY DOOR was nominated for this year’s Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival. The film bears a resemblance to Lee Chang-dong’s POETRY, (which Lee Jun-dong also produced) in its suggestive evocation of the hidden sins in a close-knit, backward community but with a distinctly feminine angle on female relationships. A Seoul police officer, played by Bae Doona, (CLOUD ATLAS, SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE) arrives in a remote fishing town to take up the post of precinct chief. There, the sight of Do-hee (Kim Sae-ron), a scrawny, disheveled waif immediately catches her eye. It doesn’t take long for the newcomer to notice that the girl is a resident scapegoat. She tries to protect Do-hee from her violent stepfather, but the girl hides a secret.

Producer Lee Jun-dong will be attending the Festival. Also screening in this focus on his work as a producer is HWAYI: A MONSTER BOY, which tells the story of Hwai, a boy with 5 fathers in the criminal underworld; Seok-tae (Kim Yun-seok THE THIEVES), a cold but charismatic leader, Ki-tae (Jo Jin-woong A HARD DAY), a stammering driver specialist, Jin-seong, an ideal planner, Beom-soo, a guns specialist and Dong-beom a cold actionist. Hwai has been brought up in a unique way, learning skills from his 5 fathers instead of going to school. His past however is about to be revealed as he is embroiled in their killing spree.

K-Focus: Director Kim Ki-duk

LKFF 2014 will celebrate the prolific, idiosyncratic career of one of Korea’s most internationally recognizable independent directors; the provocative enfant terrible of Korean Cinema, Kim Ki-duk. Marking the release of his 20th film ONE ON ONE, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival this year and was recently released in Korea, the Festival is delighted to be presenting this sometimes controversial, multi award-winning filmmaker’s 3 most recent titles, including the UK premiere of ONE ON ONE, plus screenings of MOEBIUS (released by Terracotta Distribution on DVD, 13th October) and PIETA. In ONE ON ONE, seven suspects of the brutal rape and murder of a schoolgirl are terrorized by a sect known as The Shadows.

K-Literature & Webtoon forms another important strand for the 2014 LKFF. Following on from the recent Korean Market Focus Programme at this year’s London Book Fair, with a spotlight on prominent and exciting contemporary Korean writers, the Festival will offer a selection of recent films inspired or adapted from contemporary literature and hugely popular webtoons.

K-Actors showcases the rising stars of young actors and K-Pop stars who are breaking through in Korean Cinema. The young cast of THE YOUTH, an episodic portmanteau project directed by Kim Jun-mu, Park Ka-hi and Joo Sung-su includes K-Pop stars, Lee Donghae of Super Junior, Nam Jihyun of 4Minute and Song Seung-hyun of F.T.Island in a series of interlinking stories which explore aspects of what it means to be young in contemporary Korea. MAN ON HIGH HEELS is a genuinely subversive, noir from Jang Jin, a major innovator in Korean film and television which delivers all the shocks and ultraviolence you expect from Korean crime thrillers but with a truly unexpected twist. Jangmi (Oh Jung-sae HOW TO USE A GUY WITH SECRET TIPS), a female cop is trying to trap a serial rapist. Yoon (Cha Seung-won JAILBREAKERS) is a battle-scarred cop who gets his man by any means necessary, and is determined to bring down crime boss Huh. But Yoon has a secret and appearances can be deceptive.

K-Classics

The Festival will be showing a number of Korean film classics recommended by Professor Kim Hong-june and the Korean Film Archive. The K-Classics strand will be screened in collaboration with MUBI and includes a screening of THE HOUSEMAID (1960) by Kim Ki-young.

K-Shorts will screen a selection of short films recommended by Tony Rayns including I’M NOT A HAIRDRESSER directed by Lee Hyong-sok and THERE IS NO FOREST directed by Kim Na-kyung.

The Closing Night Gala on 15th November is the multi award-winner REVIVRE, the latest film from auteur Im Kwon-taek (CHUNHYANG) which was selected for this year’s Out of Competition at Venice, Dragon&Tiger at Vancouver, as well as the Gala programme at Busan. His 102nd feature, REVIVRE marks an extraordinary career that has spanned nearly six decades. Im Kwon-taek is justly revered as the father of modern Korean cinema. Adapted from a prize-winning short story by Kim Hoon, the film is a skilful and sensitively rendered study of the conflicting and confusing emotions at play when a middle-aged man who is losing his wife to terminal cancer, fantasies about a young woman at his workplace. The film features moving and naturalistic performances from its stars Ahn Sung-ki (THE WARRIOR) and Kim Gyu-ri (MEMENTO MORI).

The full London Korean Film Festival programme will be announced at the start of October.

As stated above, the finalised schedule of the London Korean Film Festival 2014 will be officially announced at the beginning of October and full details of the festival's screenings and special events will appear on this page at that point.