Dahomey, a documentary from French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop, has won the Golden Bear for best film at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival.
The multifaceted docu-fictional essay explores the return, in November 2021, of plundered royal treasures of the African Kingdom of Dahomey from Paris to the present-day Republic of Benin, examining the complicated response of those in Benin, whose culture has developed for more than a century without these artifacts.
While taking the stage to accept her award, Diop made a direct political statement, calling out, “I stand with Palestine!”
Jury president, the Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave and Black Panther actor Lupita Nyong’o, announced the Golden Bear winner from the stage of the Berlinale Palast Saturday night. Nyong’o is the first Black and first African to chair the Berlinale jury.
Dahomey is only the second African film to win the top prize at Berlin, following Mark Dornford-May’s...
The multifaceted docu-fictional essay explores the return, in November 2021, of plundered royal treasures of the African Kingdom of Dahomey from Paris to the present-day Republic of Benin, examining the complicated response of those in Benin, whose culture has developed for more than a century without these artifacts.
While taking the stage to accept her award, Diop made a direct political statement, calling out, “I stand with Palestine!”
Jury president, the Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave and Black Panther actor Lupita Nyong’o, announced the Golden Bear winner from the stage of the Berlinale Palast Saturday night. Nyong’o is the first Black and first African to chair the Berlinale jury.
Dahomey is only the second African film to win the top prize at Berlin, following Mark Dornford-May’s...
- 2/24/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The awards ceremony for the 74th Berlin International Film Festival kicks off Saturday night, where this year’s jury, headed by 12 Years a Slave and Black Panther actress Lupita Nyong’o, will hand out the coveted Gold and Silver Bears.
Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha’s Iranian drama My Favourite Cake is being given good odds for an award this year. The drama, about a 70-year-old widow and her tentative attempts at romance with an age-appropriate taxi driver, was a critical fave. A win for the film would also send a political message after the Iranian government banned the directors from attending Berlin. If the jury picks out Cake for the Golden Bear it would be the third time in 10 years —following Jafar Panahi’s Taxi (2015) and There Is No Evil (2020) from Mohammad Rasoulof —that Berlin has given its top honor to Iranian directors in absentia. World sales for My...
Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha’s Iranian drama My Favourite Cake is being given good odds for an award this year. The drama, about a 70-year-old widow and her tentative attempts at romance with an age-appropriate taxi driver, was a critical fave. A win for the film would also send a political message after the Iranian government banned the directors from attending Berlin. If the jury picks out Cake for the Golden Bear it would be the third time in 10 years —following Jafar Panahi’s Taxi (2015) and There Is No Evil (2020) from Mohammad Rasoulof —that Berlin has given its top honor to Iranian directors in absentia. World sales for My...
- 2/23/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Two things can be true at once. The old debate over whether Hong Sangsoo’s cinema is overly earnest or self-aware was always a bit reductive––when the most light-hearted of the director’s films transcend, it is usually a result of both. Regardless, those arguments fade further into the rearview mirror with A Traveler’s Needs, his first collaboration with Isabelle Huppert since Claire’s Camera (2017) and Hong’s funniest film in years. In one gloriously stilted scene at around the halfway point, a lawyer played by Hong regular Kwon Hae-hyo attempts to flirt with Huppert’s character, Iris, who responds with a kind of unhinged wink-and-giggle movement––she then, insanely, repeats the trick. Wise to the cringing discomfort of the moment, Hong quickly cuts to a zoom reminiscent of the fan-favorite in The Woman Who Ran. Don’t say he isn’t in on the joke.
A Traveler’s Need...
A Traveler’s Need...
- 2/20/2024
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
Hong Sangsoo’s A Traveler’s Needs and Mati Diop’s Dahomey earned strong average scores on Screen’s Berlin jury grid, while Bruno Dumont’s The Empire divided critics.
A Traveler’s Needs stars Isabelle Huppert as a French woman teaching in Korea and is currently on an average of 2.9, with one score still to come (from Paolo Bertolin from cinematografo.it). Screen’s own critic awarded it four stars (excellent), while three critics gave it three stars (good) and three gave it two (average).
Click on the jury grid above for the most up-to-date version.
The score is currently slighter...
A Traveler’s Needs stars Isabelle Huppert as a French woman teaching in Korea and is currently on an average of 2.9, with one score still to come (from Paolo Bertolin from cinematografo.it). Screen’s own critic awarded it four stars (excellent), while three critics gave it three stars (good) and three gave it two (average).
Click on the jury grid above for the most up-to-date version.
The score is currently slighter...
- 2/20/2024
- ScreenDaily
South Korean sales agency Finecut has secured international sales rights to Hong Sangsoo’s A Traveler’s Needs, which stars Isabelle Huppert and is set to premiere in Competition at the Berlinale.
It marks the third collaboration between French actress Huppert and Korean filmmaker Hong after In Another Country, which played in Competition at Cannes 2012, and Claire’s Camera, which was shown in the Special Screenings section of Cannes in 2017.
Announcing its selection for the Berlinale today, artistic director Carlo Chatrian described the film as a “light but piercing take on human relationships”.
It follows a woman, played by Huppert,...
It marks the third collaboration between French actress Huppert and Korean filmmaker Hong after In Another Country, which played in Competition at Cannes 2012, and Claire’s Camera, which was shown in the Special Screenings section of Cannes in 2017.
Announcing its selection for the Berlinale today, artistic director Carlo Chatrian described the film as a “light but piercing take on human relationships”.
It follows a woman, played by Huppert,...
- 1/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
Leading Korean rights sales firm Finecut is to handle the international distribution of “A Traveler’s Needs,” which on Monday was confirmed as debuting in the main competition section of next month’s Berlinale. Remarkably, it is director Hong Sang-soo’s sixth selection for Berlin since 2020.
The picture is also the third time that French acting icon Isabelle Huppert stars in a film by the Korean veteran director, following their previous joint efforts “Claire’s Camera” and “In Another Country.”
A synopsis provided reads: “She came from France. She was playing a child’s recorder in a park. With no means of supporting herself she was advised to teach French. She became a teacher to two women. She likes to lie down on rocks and rely on makkeolli [Korean rice wine] for comfort.” Dialog is a mix of Korean, English and French.
Hong is known for his micro-budget, minimalist drama films that are long on conversation,...
The picture is also the third time that French acting icon Isabelle Huppert stars in a film by the Korean veteran director, following their previous joint efforts “Claire’s Camera” and “In Another Country.”
A synopsis provided reads: “She came from France. She was playing a child’s recorder in a park. With no means of supporting herself she was advised to teach French. She became a teacher to two women. She likes to lie down on rocks and rely on makkeolli [Korean rice wine] for comfort.” Dialog is a mix of Korean, English and French.
Hong is known for his micro-budget, minimalist drama films that are long on conversation,...
- 1/22/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Leading indie sales agent Finecut has picked up international rights to “In Our Day” by idiosyncratic South Korean director Hong Sang-soo. The film is set as the closing title of the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar of the Cannes festival.
Hong, who works on low budgets, controls much of the production process and makes repeated use of a small pool of actors, is one of the most prolific feature directors in the world. This is already his second feature this year. His earlier, “In Water” played in the Encounters section at Berlin in February
His films are known for their minimalist style, a focus on female characters, serial chance encounters and oblique references to the media industry. On paper, “In Our Day” fits exactly in that groove.
Finecut pitches the synopsis as: “A woman in her early 40s, is temporarily living at the home of a friend, who is raising a cat.
Hong, who works on low budgets, controls much of the production process and makes repeated use of a small pool of actors, is one of the most prolific feature directors in the world. This is already his second feature this year. His earlier, “In Water” played in the Encounters section at Berlin in February
His films are known for their minimalist style, a focus on female characters, serial chance encounters and oblique references to the media industry. On paper, “In Our Day” fits exactly in that groove.
Finecut pitches the synopsis as: “A woman in her early 40s, is temporarily living at the home of a friend, who is raising a cat.
- 4/18/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Korean auteur Hong Sang-soo’s latest film, “In Water,” has been bought by Cinema Guild for North American distribution on the heels of its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival.
The film played in the Encounters section and is expected to have its North American premiere at a festival later this year. Cinema Guild will be releasing “In Water” theatrically, despite a below-standard run time of just 61-minutes.
Described by Cinema Guild as Hong’s “most overtly experimental work to date,” “In Water” follows Seongmo (Shin Seokho), a young man who recently gave up acting and has decided to make a film with his own money. He and his two friends venture to the rocky shores of a large island to shoot the movie together. His former classmate, Sangguk (Ha Seongguk), will operate the camera and Namhee (Kim Seungyun) will act in it. The only problem is that Seongmo...
The film played in the Encounters section and is expected to have its North American premiere at a festival later this year. Cinema Guild will be releasing “In Water” theatrically, despite a below-standard run time of just 61-minutes.
Described by Cinema Guild as Hong’s “most overtly experimental work to date,” “In Water” follows Seongmo (Shin Seokho), a young man who recently gave up acting and has decided to make a film with his own money. He and his two friends venture to the rocky shores of a large island to shoot the movie together. His former classmate, Sangguk (Ha Seongguk), will operate the camera and Namhee (Kim Seungyun) will act in it. The only problem is that Seongmo...
- 2/22/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy and Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Finecut, the leading Korean independent film sales agent, is to represent international rights on “In Water,” the latest film by auteur Hong Sang-soo.
The film will have its world premiere in Berlin as part of the festival’s Encounters section. Its sales launch is set for the accompanying European Film Market.
This follows three successive years in which Hong has appeared in Berlin’s main competition, with: “The Woman Who Ran,” which earned Berlin’s silver bear for best director; 2021 title “Introduction” which won another silver bear, for best screenplay, at that year’s delayed festival; and “The Novelist’s Film” which won a Grand Jury Prize in 2022.
Hong, who works on low budgets, controls much of the production process and makes repeated use of a small pool of actors, is one of the most prolific feature directors in the world. In addition to the four recent Berlin titles, his “In Front of Your Face...
The film will have its world premiere in Berlin as part of the festival’s Encounters section. Its sales launch is set for the accompanying European Film Market.
This follows three successive years in which Hong has appeared in Berlin’s main competition, with: “The Woman Who Ran,” which earned Berlin’s silver bear for best director; 2021 title “Introduction” which won another silver bear, for best screenplay, at that year’s delayed festival; and “The Novelist’s Film” which won a Grand Jury Prize in 2022.
Hong, who works on low budgets, controls much of the production process and makes repeated use of a small pool of actors, is one of the most prolific feature directors in the world. In addition to the four recent Berlin titles, his “In Front of Your Face...
- 2/9/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Of contemporary Korean filmmakers, Hong Sang-soo is as prolific as he is accomplished. Over the last 25 years, he completed over 30 features and shorts, and in recent years, he has gleaned prizes with almost each and every one of them. In Berlinale 2020, he famously won the Silver Bear for Best Directing in “The Woman Who Ran”; earlier this year, he took home the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize for “The Novelist’s Film” (2022). Now, at Toronto International Film Festival, he premieres his latest work: “Walk Up,” or alternatively called “Top”.
Walk Up is screening at Toronto International Film Festival
Like much of Hong Sang-soo’s recent filmography, “Walk Up” underscores a black-and-white drama at the dinner table. The famous and ever-bemused Byungsoo (Kwon Hae-hyo) engages with three notable women in a single building. He first beseeches elegant interior designer Ms. Kim (Lee Hae-young) to take on his alienated daughter (Park Mi-so) as an apprentice.
Walk Up is screening at Toronto International Film Festival
Like much of Hong Sang-soo’s recent filmography, “Walk Up” underscores a black-and-white drama at the dinner table. The famous and ever-bemused Byungsoo (Kwon Hae-hyo) engages with three notable women in a single building. He first beseeches elegant interior designer Ms. Kim (Lee Hae-young) to take on his alienated daughter (Park Mi-so) as an apprentice.
- 9/17/2022
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
There is a small but growing belief among critics that just as Hong Sangsoo inches toward legendary status his bit might finally be going stale. Whichever side one lands on (you shall find no mutiny here), it will always be hard to resist the calm, casual charms of a work like The Novelist’s Film: a story about the creative process, shot in soft black-and-white, and a mid-range addition that won the Grand Jury Silver Bear at the Berlinale—his most prestigious award to date.
Writers, poets, directors, film students, wacky zooms, plenty of booze—all, of course, are present and accounted for here. Anyone wise to Hong’s work will know the cues all too well; what’s sometimes more interesting is finding the breaks from the norm. Like in Right Now, Wrong Then, a film that increasingly looks like his defining masterpiece, spotting the variations is half the game.
Writers, poets, directors, film students, wacky zooms, plenty of booze—all, of course, are present and accounted for here. Anyone wise to Hong’s work will know the cues all too well; what’s sometimes more interesting is finding the breaks from the norm. Like in Right Now, Wrong Then, a film that increasingly looks like his defining masterpiece, spotting the variations is half the game.
- 2/28/2022
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
Many of Hong Sang-soo’s films are structured around a woman’s solitary wanderings. The single ladies played by Kim Min-Hee in “On the Beach at Night Alone” or “The Woman Who Ran,” or Lee Hye-Young in “In Front of Your Face,” are free radicals, moving from encounter to encounter and disrupting the equilibrium of the people they meet, as meandering conversations reveal a friend’s dissatisfaction or a couple’s disagreement.
Continue reading ‘The Novelist’s Film’ Review: Hong Sang-Soo’s Latests Is Yet Another Charming, Focused Autofiction [Berlin] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘The Novelist’s Film’ Review: Hong Sang-Soo’s Latests Is Yet Another Charming, Focused Autofiction [Berlin] at The Playlist.
- 2/19/2022
- by Mark Asch
- The Playlist
“The Novelist’s Film,” which Wednesday earned Korean director Hong Sang-soo the Grand Jury Prize in Berlin, has scored multiple rights deals.
With Seoul-based Finecut handling the rights sales, the film was licensed to Ama Films for Greece and Cyprus, Mimosa Films for Japan, Atalante Cinema for Spain, Arizona Films Distribution for France and to The Cinema Guild for the U.S.
Finecut also did European Film Market business with “Contorted,” an unorthodox horror about a family tragedy. It pre-sold the title to Thailand’s Sahamongkol Films and to Indonesia’s Pt. Prima Cinema Multimedia).
“Heaven: To The Land Of Happiness,” was licensed by Finecut to Little Monster Films for Australia and, New Zealand, to Twin for Japan, Viva Networks for The Philippines, and to Long Shong for Taiwan. The film is directed by Im Sang-soo and was part of the official selection for Cannes in 2020, when the festival did not take place,...
With Seoul-based Finecut handling the rights sales, the film was licensed to Ama Films for Greece and Cyprus, Mimosa Films for Japan, Atalante Cinema for Spain, Arizona Films Distribution for France and to The Cinema Guild for the U.S.
Finecut also did European Film Market business with “Contorted,” an unorthodox horror about a family tragedy. It pre-sold the title to Thailand’s Sahamongkol Films and to Indonesia’s Pt. Prima Cinema Multimedia).
“Heaven: To The Land Of Happiness,” was licensed by Finecut to Little Monster Films for Australia and, New Zealand, to Twin for Japan, Viva Networks for The Philippines, and to Long Shong for Taiwan. The film is directed by Im Sang-soo and was part of the official selection for Cannes in 2020, when the festival did not take place,...
- 2/17/2022
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Sales also secured of upcoming horror ‘Contorted’ and Im Sang-soo’s ‘Heaven: To The Land Of Happiness’.
Korean sales agency Finecut has closed a raft of deals on three titles led by Hong Sangsoo’s The Novelist’s Film, which won the Berlinale’s Silver Bear grand jury prize yesterday.
The feature “racked up multiple deals as soon as it was announced as a Competition film at the 72nd Berlinale,” according to Finecut, selling to France (Arizona Films Distribution), Greece and Cyprus (Ama Films), Japan (Mimosa Films) and Spain (L’Atalante Cinema). A US deal with Cinema Guild was revealed last night.
Korean sales agency Finecut has closed a raft of deals on three titles led by Hong Sangsoo’s The Novelist’s Film, which won the Berlinale’s Silver Bear grand jury prize yesterday.
The feature “racked up multiple deals as soon as it was announced as a Competition film at the 72nd Berlinale,” according to Finecut, selling to France (Arizona Films Distribution), Greece and Cyprus (Ama Films), Japan (Mimosa Films) and Spain (L’Atalante Cinema). A US deal with Cinema Guild was revealed last night.
- 2/17/2022
- by Jean Noh
- ScreenDaily
Cinema Guild has acquired U.S. rights to The Novelist’s Film, the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize winner from South Korean writer-director Hong Sangsoo, which recently made its world premiere at the 2022 Berlin Film Festival. The film is the third Silver Bear winner in as many years from Hong—who won Best Director for The Woman Who Ran in 2020 and Best Screenplay for Introduction in 2021—and will be the 11th of the director’s works released by Cinema Guild in the last seven years.
In The Novelist’s Film, Lee Hyeyoung (Hong’s In Front of Your Face) plays Junhee, a novelist who has grown disenchanted with her writing. On a trip to see an old friend, she runs into a film director who was set to adapt one of her novels before the project fell through. One chance encounter leads to another and soon she finds herself having lunch...
In The Novelist’s Film, Lee Hyeyoung (Hong’s In Front of Your Face) plays Junhee, a novelist who has grown disenchanted with her writing. On a trip to see an old friend, she runs into a film director who was set to adapt one of her novels before the project fell through. One chance encounter leads to another and soon she finds herself having lunch...
- 2/16/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Distributor has released director’s last 10 features in seven years.
Cinema Guild has acquired US rights to longtime collaborator Hong Sangsoo’s The Novelist’s Film which won the Silver Bear grand jury prize at the 2022 Berlinale on Wednesday evening (16).
‘The Novelist’s Film’: Berlin Review
Hong has earned Silver Bears in three consecutive years at the festival after best director for The Woman Who Ran in 2020 and best screenplay for Introduction in 2021. Cinema Guild has released the director’s last 10 features in the last seven years.
The Novelist’s Film stars Lee Hyeyoung as an author who has grown disenchanted with...
Cinema Guild has acquired US rights to longtime collaborator Hong Sangsoo’s The Novelist’s Film which won the Silver Bear grand jury prize at the 2022 Berlinale on Wednesday evening (16).
‘The Novelist’s Film’: Berlin Review
Hong has earned Silver Bears in three consecutive years at the festival after best director for The Woman Who Ran in 2020 and best screenplay for Introduction in 2021. Cinema Guild has released the director’s last 10 features in the last seven years.
The Novelist’s Film stars Lee Hyeyoung as an author who has grown disenchanted with...
- 2/16/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Never let it be said that the Super Bowl offers nothing for movie lovers. In addition to the high profile trailers that will drop during tonight’s commercials, fans should apparently be keeping their eyes open for South Korean art film Easter eggs today. The Los Angeles Rams revealed their Super Bowl poster on Twitter, and cinephiles quickly noted that it is almost identical to the poster for the 2020 film “The Woman Who Ran,” directed by Hong Sang-soo.
“The Woman Who Ran” is the 24th film from the prolific South Korean director, and tells the story of a woman named Gamhee who spends time away from her husband for the first time in five years when he leaves for a business trip. The time apart, as well as conversations with three other women, lead her to wonder whether she actually values her husband’s companionship. Hong took home the Silver...
“The Woman Who Ran” is the 24th film from the prolific South Korean director, and tells the story of a woman named Gamhee who spends time away from her husband for the first time in five years when he leaves for a business trip. The time apart, as well as conversations with three other women, lead her to wonder whether she actually values her husband’s companionship. Hong took home the Silver...
- 2/13/2022
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
In a crossover nobody expected, a recent poster promoting the Los Angeles Rams, who are playing in Sunday’s Super Bowl, appears to be a shot-for-shot homage to an obscure South Korean film called “The Woman Who Ran.”
See for yourself below. Here is the NFL’s poster that went out on its Twitter account this morning. Below that, is the poster for Hong Sang-soo’s 2020 film, “The Woman Who Ran.”
What will the final scene of the @RamsNFL Hollywood script look like?...
See for yourself below. Here is the NFL’s poster that went out on its Twitter account this morning. Below that, is the poster for Hong Sang-soo’s 2020 film, “The Woman Who Ran.”
What will the final scene of the @RamsNFL Hollywood script look like?...
- 2/12/2022
- by Tim Baysinger
- The Wrap
It was mere weeks ago we placed a possible Hong Sang-soo film on our 2022 most-anticipated list. If nothing was announced, anything could be expected—a year without Hong is like a day without air. Little surprise, then, to see a Berlinale premiere for The Novelist’s Film, his 27th feature and first (onscreen) collaboration with Kim Min-hee since 2020’s The Woman Who Ran.
We have a first trailer and synopsis courtesy the festival, who make it sound par for the course: a woman lives the quotidian life, meets a film director, eats, gets drunk, falls asleep. Which means it will probably be one of this year’s most imperceptible and inimitable pleasures.
Find preview and synopsis below:
A female novelist takes a long trip to visit a bookstore run by a younger colleague who has fallen out of touch. Then she goes up a tower on her own and runs...
We have a first trailer and synopsis courtesy the festival, who make it sound par for the course: a woman lives the quotidian life, meets a film director, eats, gets drunk, falls asleep. Which means it will probably be one of this year’s most imperceptible and inimitable pleasures.
Find preview and synopsis below:
A female novelist takes a long trip to visit a bookstore run by a younger colleague who has fallen out of touch. Then she goes up a tower on her own and runs...
- 1/25/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Next month’s Mubi lineup for the U.S. has been unveiled and a number of our recent festival favorites that were awaiting distribution will be coming to the service, including Mr. Bachmann and His Class, Ballad of a White Cow, Madalena, Taste, The Monopoly of Violence, and For Lucio.
One of last year’s great films, Hong Sangsoo’s The Woman Who Ran, will also be arriving, alongside Abel Ferrara’s Ms. 45, the Safdies’ Heaven Knows What, Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz, and Leo McCarey’s Love Affair, with the latter two pairing for a Valentine’s Day double feature.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
February 1 | The Monopoly of Violence | David Dufresne | From France with Love
February 2 | Looking for Venera | Norika Sefa | Festival Focus: Rotterdam
February 3 | Madalena | Madiano Marcheti | Festival Focus: Rotterdam
February 4 | Honey Cigar | Kamir Aïnouz | From France with Love
February 5 | …and...
One of last year’s great films, Hong Sangsoo’s The Woman Who Ran, will also be arriving, alongside Abel Ferrara’s Ms. 45, the Safdies’ Heaven Knows What, Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz, and Leo McCarey’s Love Affair, with the latter two pairing for a Valentine’s Day double feature.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
February 1 | The Monopoly of Violence | David Dufresne | From France with Love
February 2 | Looking for Venera | Norika Sefa | Festival Focus: Rotterdam
February 3 | Madalena | Madiano Marcheti | Festival Focus: Rotterdam
February 4 | Honey Cigar | Kamir Aïnouz | From France with Love
February 5 | …and...
- 1/20/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Hong Sang-soo’s Third Successive Berlin Competition Title ‘The Novelist’s Film’ Picked up by Finecut
Leading indie sales agent Finecut has picked up international rights to “The Novelist’s Film.” The picture marks the third year in a row that South Korean director Hong Sang-soo has had a film selected for competition in Berlin.
Hong, who works on low budgets, controls much of the production process and makes repeated use of a small pool of actors, is one of the most prolific feature directors in the world. Although his works divide critics, he appears to have been recently rehabilitated among selectors (and juries) at the major European festivals.
Hong’s 2020 “The Woman Who Ran” earned Berlin’s silver bear for best director. His 2021 film “Introduction” won another silver bear, for best screenplay, at last year’s delayed festival. His other film from last year, “In Front of Your Face” played in competition in the July 2021 edition of the Cannes festival, but came away empty-handed.
His...
Hong, who works on low budgets, controls much of the production process and makes repeated use of a small pool of actors, is one of the most prolific feature directors in the world. Although his works divide critics, he appears to have been recently rehabilitated among selectors (and juries) at the major European festivals.
Hong’s 2020 “The Woman Who Ran” earned Berlin’s silver bear for best director. His 2021 film “Introduction” won another silver bear, for best screenplay, at last year’s delayed festival. His other film from last year, “In Front of Your Face” played in competition in the July 2021 edition of the Cannes festival, but came away empty-handed.
His...
- 1/19/2022
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
The 72nd Berlin International Film Festival (February 10-20) revealed its Competition line-up on Wednesday, scroll down for the full list.
As previously announced, the International Competition opens this year with François Ozon’s Peter Von Kant. Joining the Ozon pic today were 17 further features, including new films from Hong Sang-soo, Claire Denis, Ulrich Seidl, and Rithy Panh.
This marks Denis’ first time in Berlin’s Competition, having been a regular at Cannes over the years, while her last film High Life debuted at Toronto. The director’s new movie Both Sides of the Blade (previously known as Fire) stars Juliette Binoche and Vincent Lindon.
South Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo picked up the Silver Bear for Best Director in 2020 for movie The Woman Who Ran. His latest pic is The Novelist’s Film, which Berlin Artistic Director today said celebrates chance encounters.
The Competition program is 17 world premieres plus one international premiere,...
As previously announced, the International Competition opens this year with François Ozon’s Peter Von Kant. Joining the Ozon pic today were 17 further features, including new films from Hong Sang-soo, Claire Denis, Ulrich Seidl, and Rithy Panh.
This marks Denis’ first time in Berlin’s Competition, having been a regular at Cannes over the years, while her last film High Life debuted at Toronto. The director’s new movie Both Sides of the Blade (previously known as Fire) stars Juliette Binoche and Vincent Lindon.
South Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo picked up the Silver Bear for Best Director in 2020 for movie The Woman Who Ran. His latest pic is The Novelist’s Film, which Berlin Artistic Director today said celebrates chance encounters.
The Competition program is 17 world premieres plus one international premiere,...
- 1/19/2022
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
1. FleeThe official release poster for Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s animated refugee memoir Flee—the one you might have seen more often than this—isn’t half bad: the film’s subject, Amin, is revealed in the elongated ascenders of the title, as if behind bars, while a happy memory of him as a child slips freely into the poster’s negative space. And, to be honest, the design I have chosen as my favorite movie poster of the year (this is the original Swedish version but a US version of this design has been seen in the wild) doesn’t express Flee half as well as that other one does. Its it-takes-a-village cast of characters promises something different from the film itself, which is a lean and harrowing and often solitary odyssey from Afghanistan to Denmark, and from childhood to manhood. That said, I can’t stop loving this poster...
- 12/18/2021
- MUBI
Making for the ideal winter viewing, Hong Sang-soo’s black-and-white drama Introduction––the first of two features to premiere on the festival circuit this year––will arrive stateside in January. His 25th feature also marks a major achievement for the prolific South Korean auteur, being his first as cinematographer. Ahead of the Jan. 21 release from Cinema Guild, we’re pleased to debut the exclusive trailer and poster.
In the film, Youngho (Shin Seokho) goes to see his father who is tending to a famous patient. He surprises his girlfriend, Juwon (Park Miso), in Berlin where she is studying fashion design. He goes to a seaside hotel to meet his mother and brings his friend Jeongsoo (Ha Seongguk) with him. In each instance, he anticipates an important conversation. But sometimes a shared look, or a shared smoke, can mean as much as anything we could say to those close to us.
In the film, Youngho (Shin Seokho) goes to see his father who is tending to a famous patient. He surprises his girlfriend, Juwon (Park Miso), in Berlin where she is studying fashion design. He goes to a seaside hotel to meet his mother and brings his friend Jeongsoo (Ha Seongguk) with him. In each instance, he anticipates an important conversation. But sometimes a shared look, or a shared smoke, can mean as much as anything we could say to those close to us.
- 12/17/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Above: 1981 French grande for Stalker. Art by Bougrine.It’s been six months since I last did one of these round-ups of the most popular posters featured on my Movie Poster of the Day Instagram (previously Tumblr).With some 3,349 likes to date, this rare French poster for Tarkovsky’s Stalker, posted just last month, outstripped the pack and is in fact the second most “liked” poster I’ve ever posted, just a couple of hundred likes shy of Andrew Bannister’s UK poster for Parasite which I posted over a Pandemic ago. With art signed by one “Bougrine” the poster is currently offered for sale at Posteritati. Though the style and signature don’t quite look right, there was a Vladimir Bougrine (1938-2001) who was a prominent Soviet dissident painter who ended up in Paris in 1977 where, according to Wikipedia, “the French Ministry of Culture introduced him to...a community of writers,...
- 9/2/2021
- MUBI
Korean auteur Hong Sang-soo’s “In Front of Your Face” is assured of a release in the U.S. following a rights deal between sales agent Finecut and distributor the Cinema Guild.
“In Front of Your Face” will have its world premiere in competition in Cannes and plays late on the second week of the festival. But, with this counting as Hong’s 11th appearance in Cannes, buyers consider him to be a known quantity and several from key territories have been quick to jump in.
The film also sold to Providence Filmes for Brazil, Mimosa Films for Japan, Av-jet International for Taiwan and to New Wave Films for the U.K. and Ireland.
Hong, who is known for a minimalist style, a focus on female characters and oblique references to the media industry, unwraps a tale of a middle-aged woman who visits her sister in a high-rise apartment in Seoul.
“In Front of Your Face” will have its world premiere in competition in Cannes and plays late on the second week of the festival. But, with this counting as Hong’s 11th appearance in Cannes, buyers consider him to be a known quantity and several from key territories have been quick to jump in.
The film also sold to Providence Filmes for Brazil, Mimosa Films for Japan, Av-jet International for Taiwan and to New Wave Films for the U.K. and Ireland.
Hong, who is known for a minimalist style, a focus on female characters and oblique references to the media industry, unwraps a tale of a middle-aged woman who visits her sister in a high-rise apartment in Seoul.
- 7/7/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
As last year’s Berlinale premiere The Woman Who Ran arrives in the U.S. next week—followed by his next film Introduction at the German festival earlier this year—Hong Sangsoo will now premiere another new feature at the Cannes Film Festival. In Front of Your Face, which has an 85-minute runtime, will debut as part of their new, auteur-focused section Cannes Premiere, and the first batch of images have arrived along with a capitalized case-free synopsis. See below and check back for our review.
she has never lived in a high-rise apartment, and she wonders how her sister can live at this height every day. a few days ago she kind of burst in to stay with her sister, and she is now becoming re-accustomed to life in Korea. while seeming to keep a grave secret to herself, she manages life one day at a time with a sense of mindfulness.
she has never lived in a high-rise apartment, and she wonders how her sister can live at this height every day. a few days ago she kind of burst in to stay with her sister, and she is now becoming re-accustomed to life in Korea. while seeming to keep a grave secret to herself, she manages life one day at a time with a sense of mindfulness.
- 6/29/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Two years ago I wrote about Brian Hung’s wonderful posters for the recent American releases of the films of Hong Sang-soo. Since then, as Cinema Guild has continued to keep the supply chain of Hong’s mini-masterpieces open to US cinephiles, Brian, their de facto in-house designer, has designed two more posters for the South Korean auteur, adding to one of the greatest contemporary designer-director collaborations that I know ofLast summer, in the middle of lockdown, Brian concocted a lovely combination of oversized type, photos and doodled illustrations for the belated US release of Hong’s 2016 Yourself and Yours (see below) and just last week unveiled a new design for Hss’s latest, The Woman Who Ran.Brian’s poster for The Woman Who Ran is, I think, his best yet. The charming use of cut-outs and collage evident in three of his previous Hong posters reaches a new...
- 6/25/2021
- MUBI
Yes, the above headline could be a descriptor for any number of Hong Sangsoo movies, but The Woman Who Ran is one of the South Korean master’s most poignant and entertaining in this regard. Following a premiere at Berlinale last year, where Hong picked up the Silver Bear for Best Director, the film will arrive in theaters on July 9 and we’re pleased to debut the exclusive trailer courtesy of Cinema Guild.
The film––which kicked of another prolific streak for Hong, who after having no new films in 2019, premiered The Woman Who Ran last year then has two new films this year––follows Gamhee (Kim Minhee), who has three separate encounters with friends while her husband is on a business trip. Youngsoon (Seo Youngwha) is divorced, has given up meat and likes to garden in her backyard. Suyoung (Song Seonmi) has a crush on her architect neighbor and...
The film––which kicked of another prolific streak for Hong, who after having no new films in 2019, premiered The Woman Who Ran last year then has two new films this year––follows Gamhee (Kim Minhee), who has three separate encounters with friends while her husband is on a business trip. Youngsoon (Seo Youngwha) is divorced, has given up meat and likes to garden in her backyard. Suyoung (Song Seonmi) has a crush on her architect neighbor and...
- 6/16/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Over 100 films, stories of women, of precarious work, portraits of contemporary Korean society, between bourgeoisie and working classes; this is the 19th edition of the Florence Korea Film Fest, the most important Italian festival dedicated to the best of cinematography of contemporary South Korea, from 21 to 28 May in Florence, live (pending the provisions regarding the health emergency) at the La Compagnia cinema and online on the Più Compagnia and Mymovies.it platforms. The event, conceived and directed by Riccardo Gelli of the Taegukgi – Toscana Korea Association, is organized with the support of the Tuscany System Foundation, the Tuscany Region, the Metropolitan City of Florence, the Municipality of Florence, Kofic – Korean Film Council.
As every year, the Programme features a rich lineup of over 100 films, including short films and documentaries. Spotlights are on the homage to Kim Ki-Duk, one of the most important filmmakers in world cinema – who recently passed away, at...
As every year, the Programme features a rich lineup of over 100 films, including short films and documentaries. Spotlights are on the homage to Kim Ki-Duk, one of the most important filmmakers in world cinema – who recently passed away, at...
- 5/20/2021
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Film at Lincoln Center’s reopening includes in-cinema screenings of Christian Petzold’s Undine Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Film at Lincoln Center has announced that the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center will reopen to the public at 25% capacity on Friday, April 16 with screenings of Azazel Jacobs’s French Exit, starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Lucas Hedges with Small Frank (voiced by Tracy Letts), and the restoration of Andrei Tarkovsky’s Mirror (1974). Upcoming films include Christian Petzold’s Undine, starring Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski; François Ozon’s Summer Of ’85 (Été ’85); Heidi Ewing’s I Carry You With Me; Hong Sangsoo’s The Woman Who Ran, and Jia Zhangke’s Swimming Out Till The Sea Turns Blue. The World of Wong Kar Wai comes May 14-20.
Film at Lincoln Center has the World of Wong Kar Wai coming Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Rendez-Vous with French Cinema was abruptly halted on March 12, 2020, following Rebecca Zlotowski...
Film at Lincoln Center has announced that the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center will reopen to the public at 25% capacity on Friday, April 16 with screenings of Azazel Jacobs’s French Exit, starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Lucas Hedges with Small Frank (voiced by Tracy Letts), and the restoration of Andrei Tarkovsky’s Mirror (1974). Upcoming films include Christian Petzold’s Undine, starring Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski; François Ozon’s Summer Of ’85 (Été ’85); Heidi Ewing’s I Carry You With Me; Hong Sangsoo’s The Woman Who Ran, and Jia Zhangke’s Swimming Out Till The Sea Turns Blue. The World of Wong Kar Wai comes May 14-20.
Film at Lincoln Center has the World of Wong Kar Wai coming Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Rendez-Vous with French Cinema was abruptly halted on March 12, 2020, following Rebecca Zlotowski...
- 4/1/2021
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Exclusive: Cinema Guild has secured the North American distribution rights to Expedition Content, a documentary that premiered in the Forum section at the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival and had its U.S. debut as part of Film at Lincoln Center’s Art of the Real. Directed by Ernst Karel and Veronika Kusumaryati, the doc will be released in theaters later this year.
Karel produced the film, which draws on audio recordings made by recent college graduate and Standard Oil heir Michael Rockefeller as part of the so-called Harvard-Peabody Expedition to Netherlands New Guinea in 1961 to study the indigenous Hubula (also known as Dani) people. It documents the strange encounter between the expedition and the Hubula people.
“With this film, Ernst and Veronika have created a movie-going experience unlike any other,” said Cinema Guild President Peter Kelly, who negotiated the acquisition deal with the film’s producers. “We’re excited for...
Karel produced the film, which draws on audio recordings made by recent college graduate and Standard Oil heir Michael Rockefeller as part of the so-called Harvard-Peabody Expedition to Netherlands New Guinea in 1961 to study the indigenous Hubula (also known as Dani) people. It documents the strange encounter between the expedition and the Hubula people.
“With this film, Ernst and Veronika have created a movie-going experience unlike any other,” said Cinema Guild President Peter Kelly, who negotiated the acquisition deal with the film’s producers. “We’re excited for...
- 3/26/2021
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
Cinema Guild has acquired North American rights to Ramon Zürcher and Silvan Zürcher’s “The Girl and the Spider,” which world premiered at the Berlinale in the Encounters section, and won best director.
“The Girl and the Spider” was co-written and directed by Ramon Zürcher, and written and produced by Silvan Zürcher. It marks the Swiss brothers’ follow-up to their critically acclaimed feature debut “The Strange Little Cat,” which won the Fipresci prize at Berlin in 2013.
Like “The Strange Little Cat,” “The Girl and the Spider” explores human togetherness, the need for closeness and the pain of separation through the story of two roommates. The film revolves around Lisa (Liliane Amuat), who is moving out of the apartment she shared with Mara (Henriette Confurius), and is set within the two apartments, the one Lisa and Mara shared and the new one Lisa is moving into.
“We had high hopes for...
“The Girl and the Spider” was co-written and directed by Ramon Zürcher, and written and produced by Silvan Zürcher. It marks the Swiss brothers’ follow-up to their critically acclaimed feature debut “The Strange Little Cat,” which won the Fipresci prize at Berlin in 2013.
Like “The Strange Little Cat,” “The Girl and the Spider” explores human togetherness, the need for closeness and the pain of separation through the story of two roommates. The film revolves around Lisa (Liliane Amuat), who is moving out of the apartment she shared with Mara (Henriette Confurius), and is set within the two apartments, the one Lisa and Mara shared and the new one Lisa is moving into.
“We had high hopes for...
- 3/22/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Sean Gilman: I had a particularly Hongian experience as I readied myself to write this first dispatch to you, Evan, about Introduction. Right after finishing the movie, I took a brief nap. This is a regular part of my pre-writing process: the twenty minutes of calm and quiet help me organize my thoughts, and the dreaminess helps with my creativity. I had the whole thing planned and written out in my head. I assure you it was brilliant, funny and clever and insightful. Then when I woke up, I had forgotten all of it. Not just what I was going to write, but the movie itself was gone. I’ve been trying to piece it all back together over the past 24 hours, and in doing so I’ve been wondering if this is a bit like how Hong constructs his films in the first place. It’s well-documented that he...
- 3/15/2021
- MUBI
Maren Eggert and Lilla Kizlinger win first ever gender-neutral acting awards.
The Golden Bear for best film at the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival has been won by Radu Jude’s Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn.
Scroll down for full list of winners
The social satire was shot in Romania during the summer of 2020 during a lull in the pandemic, and stars Katia Pascariu as a school teacher who finds her career and reputation on the line after a personal sex tape is leaked onto the Internet. Heretic Outreach handles sales.
Romanian filmmaker Jude was last in competition at the...
The Golden Bear for best film at the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival has been won by Radu Jude’s Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn.
Scroll down for full list of winners
The social satire was shot in Romania during the summer of 2020 during a lull in the pandemic, and stars Katia Pascariu as a school teacher who finds her career and reputation on the line after a personal sex tape is leaked onto the Internet. Heretic Outreach handles sales.
Romanian filmmaker Jude was last in competition at the...
- 3/5/2021
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Distributor previously acquired South Korean auteur’s 2020 Silver Bear winner The Woman Who Ran.
Cinema Guild has acquired all US rights to Hong Sangsoo’s Introduction which premiered in competition in Berlin this week.
Hong’s latest film explores the interconnected lives of young people on the verge of adulthood and stars Shin Seokho, Park Miso, Kim Youngho, and Ki Joobong.
‘Introduction’: Berlin Review
The film currently shares the lead in Screen’s jury grid with Mr Bachmann And His Class.
Cinema Guild, which acquired Hong’s 2020 Silver Bear winner The Woman Who Ran last year, plans a festival...
Cinema Guild has acquired all US rights to Hong Sangsoo’s Introduction which premiered in competition in Berlin this week.
Hong’s latest film explores the interconnected lives of young people on the verge of adulthood and stars Shin Seokho, Park Miso, Kim Youngho, and Ki Joobong.
‘Introduction’: Berlin Review
The film currently shares the lead in Screen’s jury grid with Mr Bachmann And His Class.
Cinema Guild, which acquired Hong’s 2020 Silver Bear winner The Woman Who Ran last year, plans a festival...
- 3/3/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Cinema Guild has picked up U.S. distribution rights to Introduction, the new film from acclaimed South Korean auteur Hong Sangsoo (The Woman Who Ran) that premiered in competition this week at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Hong’s latest minimalist drama is set in Korea and Berlin. It follows the relationship between Youngho (Shin Seokho) and his girlfriend Juwon (Park Miso) over several years, told through seemingly mundane moments and encounters. Shot in black-and-white, Introduction is Hong’s 25th feature.
“From the very beginning, director Hong has been a maker of highly personal films, but with Introduction, he seems to be ...
Hong’s latest minimalist drama is set in Korea and Berlin. It follows the relationship between Youngho (Shin Seokho) and his girlfriend Juwon (Park Miso) over several years, told through seemingly mundane moments and encounters. Shot in black-and-white, Introduction is Hong’s 25th feature.
“From the very beginning, director Hong has been a maker of highly personal films, but with Introduction, he seems to be ...
Cinema Guild has picked up U.S. distribution rights to Introduction, the new film from acclaimed South Korean auteur Hong Sangsoo (The Woman Who Ran) that premiered in competition this week at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Hong’s latest minimalist drama is set in Korea and Berlin. It follows the relationship between Youngho (Shin Seokho) and his girlfriend Juwon (Park Miso) over several years, told through seemingly mundane moments and encounters. Shot in black-and-white, Introduction is Hong’s 25th feature.
“From the very beginning, director Hong has been a maker of highly personal films, but with Introduction, he seems to be ...
Hong’s latest minimalist drama is set in Korea and Berlin. It follows the relationship between Youngho (Shin Seokho) and his girlfriend Juwon (Park Miso) over several years, told through seemingly mundane moments and encounters. Shot in black-and-white, Introduction is Hong’s 25th feature.
“From the very beginning, director Hong has been a maker of highly personal films, but with Introduction, he seems to be ...
First paragraphs of Hong Sang-soo reviews often dwell on the Korean master’s penchant for self-repetition, soothing readers that narrow expectations will be fulfilled. Let’s take a different course. This new work, Introduction, which charts a variety of fraught social “introductions” across different relationships, caused reflection on my first impressions of a director who’d soon become a reliable favorite, before any expectations could be tweaked or swerved. That film, 2013’s Nobody’s Daughter Haewon, made me think I was observing one of the chintziest, lowest-fidelity trifles imaginable, one hilarious fake-out gag with Jane Birkin notwithstanding. What might an unsuspecting viewer confronted with this film make of its unfriendly visage?
Knowing Hong and his temperament, it’s unlikely he’s too bothered. After initially breaking through with French co-productions in the 2000s, everything since––his reputation-crowning work, actually––has been self-financed and self-produced with little monetary risk incurred. Few auteurs...
Knowing Hong and his temperament, it’s unlikely he’s too bothered. After initially breaking through with French co-productions in the 2000s, everything since––his reputation-crowning work, actually––has been self-financed and self-produced with little monetary risk incurred. Few auteurs...
- 3/2/2021
- by David Katz
- The Film Stage
South Korean filmmaker Hong Sangsoo has been a particular favorite at the Berlin Film Festival for quite some time — he won the Best Director prize there last year for The Woman Who Ran — and he’s back again this year with another competition entry, Introduction. A study of indecision and uncertainty in the realms of family, career and amour, this very brief (just 66 minutes) and visually appealing black-and-white drama can be a bit confusing, as the writer-director makes little effort to define the characters and their relationships with one another. But it also contains some vibrant intimate scenes, as the principals feel their way toward life-defining emotions and decisions.
This is the prolific writer-director’s 25th film in as many years, and if it’s sometimes difficult to remember which is which, it’s for a good reason; they’re all talky affairs in which mostly young people go on...
This is the prolific writer-director’s 25th film in as many years, and if it’s sometimes difficult to remember which is which, it’s for a good reason; they’re all talky affairs in which mostly young people go on...
- 3/2/2021
- by Todd McCarthy
- Deadline Film + TV
Like cracking a window in a stuffy room, it sometimes feels as if Hong Sangsoo’s films are where festival lineups go when they need to breathe. The 2021 Berlin Film Festival takes a quick, deep lungful with “Introduction,” an airy 66-minute sampler of everything the Korean director’s fans admire, which is coincidentally everything his detractors dislike. But despite the familiarly strange, gossamer-spiderweb pattern of glancing encounters and dropped connections, “Introduction” is not as featherweight as it might first appear. And contrary to its title, it’s an expansion pack rather than an entry-level starter kit for the Hong Cinematic Universe.
The filmmaker however needs no introducing to the Berlinale. He’s been in competition here four times before, most recently last year, when the delightful “The Woman Who Ran” brought him the Silver Bear for best director. The black-and-white “Introduction,” on which he acts for the first time as his own cinematographer,...
The filmmaker however needs no introducing to the Berlinale. He’s been in competition here four times before, most recently last year, when the delightful “The Woman Who Ran” brought him the Silver Bear for best director. The black-and-white “Introduction,” on which he acts for the first time as his own cinematographer,...
- 3/2/2021
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
Further agreements struck for ‘Slate’, ‘Pipeline’ and ‘The Anchor’.
South Korean sales company Finecut has closed a raft of deals ahead of the EFM, led by a pick-up of crime thriller Midnight (working title) by The Jokers Films for France.
Finecut has also secured deals for action fantasy Slate, heist feature Pipeline and mystery thriller The Anchor.
Midnight marks the feature debut of director Kwon Oh-seung and follows a deadly game of hide-and-seek between a psychopathic killer and a deaf woman. It stars Jin Ki-joo (Little Forest) and Wi Ha-jun (Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum).
Slate, which premiered at Tokyo International Film Festival in November,...
South Korean sales company Finecut has closed a raft of deals ahead of the EFM, led by a pick-up of crime thriller Midnight (working title) by The Jokers Films for France.
Finecut has also secured deals for action fantasy Slate, heist feature Pipeline and mystery thriller The Anchor.
Midnight marks the feature debut of director Kwon Oh-seung and follows a deadly game of hide-and-seek between a psychopathic killer and a deaf woman. It stars Jin Ki-joo (Little Forest) and Wi Ha-jun (Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum).
Slate, which premiered at Tokyo International Film Festival in November,...
- 2/26/2021
- by Jean Noh
- ScreenDaily
Leading South Korean film sales firm Finecut has boarded “Toxic,” a fact-based drama-thriller about a mysterious outbreak that killed thousands. The firm, which is also representing Hong Sang-soo’s Berlin competition title “Introduction,” will unveil the new title to buyers at next month’s European Film Market.
The film is the dramatization of events between 1994 and 2011 in which at least 1,600, and possibly as many as 14,000, people in Korea died. Consumer goods companies including the U.K.’s Reckitt-Benckiser sold tens of millions of humidifier-disinfectants for everyday use. Some included medicinal claims such as the suggestion that they would be good for people suffering from the common cold. Instead, with possible government complicity, the products skipped proper testing and were later found to contain chemicals that caused irreversible lung damage.
The film centers on an ER doctor whose wife may have lost her life because of the product. Along with other victims,...
The film is the dramatization of events between 1994 and 2011 in which at least 1,600, and possibly as many as 14,000, people in Korea died. Consumer goods companies including the U.K.’s Reckitt-Benckiser sold tens of millions of humidifier-disinfectants for everyday use. Some included medicinal claims such as the suggestion that they would be good for people suffering from the common cold. Instead, with possible government complicity, the products skipped proper testing and were later found to contain chemicals that caused irreversible lung damage.
The film centers on an ER doctor whose wife may have lost her life because of the product. Along with other victims,...
- 2/19/2021
- Variety Film + TV
As we expected, the pandemic was not going to stop the prolific Hong Sangsoo from completing a new film. After premiering The Woman Who Ran at Berlinale last year, the South Korean master returns to the festival this year with a black-and-white offering titled Introduction. Clocking in at 66 minutes the cast includes Shin Seokho, Park Miso, Kim Youngho, Ki Joobong, Seo Younghwa, Kim Minhee, Cho Yunhee, Ye Jiwon, and Ha Seongguk, and today brings our first glimpse at the plot as well as footage.
See the synopsis below, followed by the clip, stills, and poster.
Youngho is summoned by his father, who is a doctor. Finding him busy with his patients, one of whom is a famous actor, Youngho has to wait. When his girlfriend Juwon moves to Berlin for her studies, Youngho shows up in the city to surprise her. Through her mother, Juwon has found accommodation at the...
See the synopsis below, followed by the clip, stills, and poster.
Youngho is summoned by his father, who is a doctor. Finding him busy with his patients, one of whom is a famous actor, Youngho has to wait. When his girlfriend Juwon moves to Berlin for her studies, Youngho shows up in the city to surprise her. Through her mother, Juwon has found accommodation at the...
- 2/17/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The Berlin Film Festival on Thursday unveiled the titles that will compete in the 2021 Berlinale as well as the high-profile features screening out of competition in Berlin’s Berlinale Specials section.
Albatross from French director Xavier Beauvois (Of Gods and Men), Introduction by acclaimed Korean director Hong Sangsoo (The Woman Who Ran), Petite Maman from Portrait of a Lady on Fire director Céline Sciamma; and I’m Your Man, described as a sci-fi romantic comedy starring Toni Erdmann’s Sandra Hüller, from German filmmaker Maria Schrader (Emmy winner for Netflix’s Unorthodox) are among the high-profile arthouse titles that will have their world premieres in competition in ...
Albatross from French director Xavier Beauvois (Of Gods and Men), Introduction by acclaimed Korean director Hong Sangsoo (The Woman Who Ran), Petite Maman from Portrait of a Lady on Fire director Céline Sciamma; and I’m Your Man, described as a sci-fi romantic comedy starring Toni Erdmann’s Sandra Hüller, from German filmmaker Maria Schrader (Emmy winner for Netflix’s Unorthodox) are among the high-profile arthouse titles that will have their world premieres in competition in ...
- 2/11/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
The Berlin Film Festival on Thursday unveiled the titles that will compete in the 2021 Berlinale as well as the high-profile features screening out of competition in Berlin’s Berlinale Specials section.
Albatross from French director Xavier Beauvois (Of Gods and Men), Introduction by acclaimed Korean director Hong Sangsoo (The Woman Who Ran), Petite Maman from Portrait of a Lady on Fire director Céline Sciamma; and I’m Your Man, described as a sci-fi romantic comedy starring Toni Erdmann’s Sandra Hüller, from German filmmaker Maria Schrader (Emmy winner for Netflix’s Unorthodox) are among the high-profile arthouse titles that will have their world premieres in competition in ...
Albatross from French director Xavier Beauvois (Of Gods and Men), Introduction by acclaimed Korean director Hong Sangsoo (The Woman Who Ran), Petite Maman from Portrait of a Lady on Fire director Céline Sciamma; and I’m Your Man, described as a sci-fi romantic comedy starring Toni Erdmann’s Sandra Hüller, from German filmmaker Maria Schrader (Emmy winner for Netflix’s Unorthodox) are among the high-profile arthouse titles that will have their world premieres in competition in ...
- 2/11/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Hong Sang-soo was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 70th Berlinale Film Festival for his 24rd feature fiction film “The Woman Who Ran”, a story revolving around Gam-hee (Kim Min-hee), a young florist who visits two of her long-time friends at the outskirts of Seoul, and also accidentally meets the third one on her excursion to an arthouse exhibition.
The Woman Who Ran is Screening at Black Movie
It’s in many ways a classical Hong Sang-soo movie built around people immersed in conversations, enjoying drinks, food and beautiful landscapes. So there is plenty of chatter in “The Woman Who Ran” but no traditional soju-drinking, although two people won’t be sober for a long time after downing a bottle of makgeolli. But the true novelty is that Hong Sang-soo has made a very female movie, his first of the kind, and it is a surprisingly effortless...
The Woman Who Ran is Screening at Black Movie
It’s in many ways a classical Hong Sang-soo movie built around people immersed in conversations, enjoying drinks, food and beautiful landscapes. So there is plenty of chatter in “The Woman Who Ran” but no traditional soju-drinking, although two people won’t be sober for a long time after downing a bottle of makgeolli. But the true novelty is that Hong Sang-soo has made a very female movie, his first of the kind, and it is a surprisingly effortless...
- 1/24/2021
- by Marina D. Richter
- AsianMoviePulse
Of this year’s 49 selections at the Black Movie International Independent Film Festival – Geneva, 12 — that is, roughly 25% — of them hail from Asia. The net is as wide as it is expansive: films range from the west reaches of the Caucasus in Azerbaijan to multiple entries from S. Korea. The notable Korean presence only speaks to the increased interest in S. Korean cinema as well, as their four entries include festival hits like Kim Yong-hoon’s “Beasts Clawing at Straws” and Berlinale Silver Bear “The Woman Who Ran” (Hong Sang-soo).
Black Movie International Independent Film Festival – Geneva first emerged from a desire to showcase African films. In 1999, the Black Movie expanded to include other members of the Global South — especially focusing on Asia and Latin America. Black Movie is known for its discovery of auteur cinema, including showcases of Apitchatpong Weerasethakul, Jia Zhangke, Carlos Reygadas, Wang Bing, Takashi Miike, João Pedro Rodrigues in Switzerland.
Black Movie International Independent Film Festival – Geneva first emerged from a desire to showcase African films. In 1999, the Black Movie expanded to include other members of the Global South — especially focusing on Asia and Latin America. Black Movie is known for its discovery of auteur cinema, including showcases of Apitchatpong Weerasethakul, Jia Zhangke, Carlos Reygadas, Wang Bing, Takashi Miike, João Pedro Rodrigues in Switzerland.
- 1/20/2021
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
The Korean Film Council (Kofic) is launching an initiative to promote the country’s acting talent on the world stage. It will roll out from March, ahead of the year’s major film festivals.
The Korean Actors 200 campaign, akin to the Shooting Stars operation backed by the European Film Promotion program, is described as a “methodical project” that sees the selection of 100 men and 100 women who represent the present and the future of Korean film.
Kofic says that the selection process takes into consideration the performers’ box office power over the last decade, awards earned at festivals in Korea and abroad, their contribution to independent cinema, and their participation in international projects.
A dedicated website will contain filmographies, new portrait photography, show reels, biographies and a list of particular characteristics and strengths for each. Portrait images will be supplied by two leading photographers Kim Jung-man and Ahn Sung-jin.
“We plan...
The Korean Actors 200 campaign, akin to the Shooting Stars operation backed by the European Film Promotion program, is described as a “methodical project” that sees the selection of 100 men and 100 women who represent the present and the future of Korean film.
Kofic says that the selection process takes into consideration the performers’ box office power over the last decade, awards earned at festivals in Korea and abroad, their contribution to independent cinema, and their participation in international projects.
A dedicated website will contain filmographies, new portrait photography, show reels, biographies and a list of particular characteristics and strengths for each. Portrait images will be supplied by two leading photographers Kim Jung-man and Ahn Sung-jin.
“We plan...
- 1/20/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Whether a viewer in 1896 or 2020, cinema has always been a dynamic and variable experience. Cinema as an event—as a manifestation of a meeting point between the art of moving images and an audience, big or small—has never fit any one definition, and this last year, so severely disrupted by a global pandemic, has deeply underscored the versatility and resilience of our great love.Our viewing this year, like that of so many, has been strange: compromised, confrontational, escapist, euphoric, painful, revelatory—encompassing all of the reactions one can have to film. How we encountered our favorite movies and most meaningful cinematic experiences of the year was hardly new: A by-now-normal mix of festivals, theatres, various subscription and transactional streaming services, as well as private screener links and gems buried on over-stuffed hard drives. But for most of the year, the communal experience shrunk to living rooms and glowing screens.
- 12/23/2020
- MUBI
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