Kwak Yeon-soo is a digital editor at The Korea Times creating, editing and curating digital content for the newspaper’s website, mobile app and social media. She previously covered a diverse array of cultural, political and business topics.
2 Korean indie films invited to 71st Berlin Film Festival
A poster for the film “Short Vacation” / Courtesy of Film Dabin
By Kwak Yeon-soo
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Two Korean independent films have been invited to the youth-centered Generation competition of this year's Berlin International Film Festival, distributors said Wednesday.
According to the 2021 lineup for the Berlinale, which will be held online from March 1-5, “Short Vacation” and “Fighter” will be presented in the Generation's Kplus and 14plus sections, respectively. Berlin's Generation films target children and youth audiences.
“Short Vacation” from directors Kwon Min-pyo and Seo Han-sol, who are making their feature directorial debut, is about four middle school classmates who embark on a journey together to finish their summer assignment, which is to capture “the end of the world” on their cameras.
“It is not a film about girls going on a picnic. It explores the unknown in life by following a short journey. It gives insight into trivial and banal things instead of having a dramatized plot,” said film critic Jung Han-seok. The film will hit local theaters this summer.
A poster for the film “Fighter” / Courtesy of INDIESTORY
Directed by Yun Jero, “Fighter” is about a North Korean defector Jin-ah (Lim Seong-mi) who starts off working as a cleaning lady at a boxing club and then shines as a slob turned boxer. The film won the NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) Award and Actress of the Year Award at the 2020 Busan International Film Festival. It will hit local theaters in March.
Yun's short film “Hitchhiker” (2016) was invited to the Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival and his first feature film “Beautiful Days” (2018) was invited as the opening film of the 23rd Busan International Film Festival.
Kim Bo-ra's “House of Hummingbird” won the Grand Prix for best film at Generation 14plus in 2019 while Moon Chang-yong and Jeon Jin's “Becoming Who I Was” won the Grand Prix for best feature at Generation Kplus in 2017. Yoon Ga-eun's “Sprout” won the Crystal Bear for Best Short Film in 2014 and Shin Su-won's “Pluto” received a special mention in the Generation 14plus section in 2013.
Meanwhile, director Hong Sang-soo's 25th feature film “Introduction” will be part of the competition section at the 71st Berlinale. The 66-minute film, fronted by actors Shin Seok-ho and Park Mi-so, is divided into three parts in which a man named Young-ho goes on a journey to visit his father, his love and his mother. It will hit local theaters in the first half of 2021.
This marks Hong's fifth time competing for a prize at the German film festival. Hong won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival for “The Woman Who Ran,” which stars Kim Min-hee. Kim also stars in “Introduction.”