18th Seoul Eco Film Festival to highlight pandemic, climate crisis, ecological destruction Courtesy of the 18th Seoul International Eco Film Festival By Ko Dong-hwanThe Seoul International Eco Film Festival, an annual film festival that screens movies about contemporary environmental issues across the world, released its promotional poster and slogan on April 26.An official statement from the 18th Seoul International Eco Film Festival (SEFF) said they dubbed this year's event “ECOvolution,” a compound of “eco,” “revolution” and “evolution.” The statement said that the slogan reflects, “Global society currently, where people's daily lives have been brought to a standstill due to the unprecedented global pandemic. It implies that the current pause can be a turning point. The slogan contains the message that efforts to achieve an immediate and large-scale transformation of the environment are needed.”“We wanted to convey the message that, although people everywhere are suffering in various ways amidst both the current pandemic and the global climate crisis, Apr 27, 2021By Ko Dong-hwan
Oscars acknowledges Youn Yuh-jung's decadeslong contribution: 'Parasite' director Youn Yuh-jung, winner of the award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for "Minari," poses at the press room of the Oscars in the 93rd Academy Awards in Los Angeles, Calif., April 25. Reuters-YonhapDirector Bong Joon-ho has said that South Korean actress Youn Yuh-jung's history-making Oscar victory is the result of the U.S. Academy Awards' belated acknowledgement of her versatility and decadeslong contribution to the South Korean film industry.The 73-year-old screen veteran was awarded Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in the immigrant film "Minari," written and directed by Korean American Lee Isaac Chung.She is the first South Korean to win an acting Oscar. Bong's black comedy "Parasite" brought home four Oscar titles, including best picture and best director, last year, but none of its cast earned an acting nomination.She took the role of the atypical foulmouthed grandmother Soon-ja, who comes to America to help her daughter's family, which starts a new life in rural Arkansas."She has not prepared projects targeting an Oscar," Bong said during a telephone interview wApr 27, 2021
Youn's Oscar glory celebrated in Korea People watch a TV screen showing a news program reporting Korean actress Youn Yuh-jung received the Oscar for best supporting actress for her performance in "Minari," at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, April 26 (KST). APAn outpouring of support and congratulatory comments followed the news of South Korean actress Youn Yuh-jung's historic winning of an Oscar on Monday.Youn won best supporting actress at this year's Academy Awards for her performance in the film "Minari," becoming the first South Korean to win an acting Oscar. "It is like much-needed rain for the people who are having a hard time amid the COVID-19 pandemic," the ruling Democratic Party (DP) said in a statement.The movie has "made history yet again" after the Oscar winning last year by Bong Joon-ho with "Parasite," the statement read, adding, "Youn's performance moved the hearts of global moviegoers and left lasting impressions."The party implored the public to "overcome the current (health) crisis," just like the movie's protagonists who, "despite all the anxiety and confusion, do not give up and challenge themselves tApr 26, 2021
China censors Oscars success of history-making Chloe Zhao Director/Producer Chloe Zhao, winner of the award for best picture for "Nomadland," poses in the press room at the Oscars in Los Angeles, Calif., April 25. AP-YonhapBeijing-born Chloe Zhao was scrubbed from Chinese social media on Monday as a nationalist backlash airbrushed out her remarkable achievement of becoming the first woman of colour to win the best director Oscar.Zhao on Sunday night became the second woman ever to win the coveted award at the LA ceremony, as her film "Nomadland" ― about marginalised Americans roaming the west ― bagged best picture and its lead, Frances McDormand, won best actress.But all recent posts containing her name and "Nomadland" were mysteriously wiped from the Twitter-like site Weibo by Monday noon Beijing time. Her win was also met with silence by Chinese media.Initially hailed by state media for her film's success at the Golden Globes in March, Zhao became the target of a nationalist backlash after social media users dug up years-old interviews in which she appeared to criticise her country of birth.Chinese cinemas abruptly pulled the film's schedApr 26, 2021
Youn Yuh-jung becomes first Korean to win acting Oscar Youn Yuh-Jung, winner of the award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for “Minari,” poses in the press room at the Oscars in Los Angeles, Sunday (local time). Reuters-Yonhap73-year-old receives best supporting actress Oscar for 'Minari'By Kwak Yeon-sooYoun Yuh-jung made history Sunday (local time) becoming the first Korean to win an acting Oscar for her nuanced portrayal of Soon-ja, the grandmother of a Korean immigrant family, in director Lee Isaac Chung's moving drama “Minari.”At the Academy Awards ceremony held at Union Station in Los Angeles, Youn took home the award for best supporting actress, beating out Maria Bakalova in “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” Glenn Close in “Hillbilly Elegy,” Amanda Seyfried in “Mank” and Olivia Colman in “The Father.”Youn is the second Asian woman to win an acting Oscar after Japanese-American Miyoshi Umeki who won the best supporting actress prize for her role in “Sayonara” (1957).Onstage, the 73-year-old actress thanked members of the academy and the Minari crew Apr 26, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo
Once a 'needs-driven' actor gets global spotlight Oscar-winning actress Youn Yuh-jung in a scene from the 2009 film “Actresses” / Yonhap By Kang Hyun-kyungYoun Yuh-jung, 73, has achieved a feat that no other Korean actor has ever done in the 102 years of Korean cinema history ― winning an Oscar ― a half century after her big screen acting debut in 1971. Her life and career has parallels with director Lee Isaac Chung's award-winning film “Minari,” the movie that rocketed her acting career to the world stage. Like the low-budget film that has surprisingly drawn the global spotlight by grabbing hundreds of awards at film festivals held around the world, Youn was once a needs-driven actor who returned to the small screen to make ends meet and raise her two sons, but later successfully transformed herself into the crown jewel of Korean cinema. Just as the plant ― minari ― of the genus water dropwort is popular among Koreans with its multiple uses as a side dish and ingredient for Koreans' staple side-dish kimchi, YoApr 26, 2021By Kang Hyun-kyung
'Nomadland' wins best picture at Oscars Director/Producer Chloe Zhao, winner of the award for best picture for "Nomadland," poses in the press room at the Oscars on April 25 at Union Station in Los Angeles. AFP-YonhapChloe Zhao's ``Nomadland,'' a wistful portrait of itinerant lives on open roads across the American West, won best picture Sunday at the 93rd Academy Awards, where the China-born Zhao also became just the second woman to win best director, and the first woman of color. The ``Nomadland'' victory, while widely expected, nevertheless capped the extraordinary rise of Zhao, a lyrical filmmaker whose winning film is just her third, and which ― with a budget less than $5 million and featuring a cast populated by non-professional actors ― ranks as one of the most modest-sized movies to win Hollywood's top honor. Zhao's next film, Marvel's ``Eternals,'' has a budget approximately 40 times that of ``Nomadland.'' Only Kathryn Bigelow, 11 years ago for ``The Hurt Locker,'' had previously won best director.But ``Nomadland,'' as a plain-spoken meditation on solitude, grief and grit, stuck a chord in a pandemic-ravaged year.Apr 26, 2021
Korean film industry people shine at Oscars for second year in a row Actresses Youn Yuh-jung, left, and actress Han Ye-ri arrive at the Oscars at Union Station in Los Angeles, April 25. AFP-YonhapAbout a year ago, few South Koreans likely imagined they would see their compatriots receive awards at the Oscars, one of the world's most prestigious cinema award shows, for two years in a row.But it really happened in 2020 and 2021.At the 93rd Academy Awards held both at Union Station and Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday (U.S. time), veteran actress Youn Yuh-jung became the first South Korean actress to ever win an acting Oscar in her country's 102-year cinema history. She captured the best supporting actress title for her role as the grandmother in the immigration film "Minari," written and directed by Korean American Lee Isaac Chung.She also became the second Asian actress to win the best supporting actress title after Japanese actress Miyoshi Umeki from 1957's "Sayonara."Moreover, the 73-year-old thespian is the third-oldest actress to win in the category in the 93-year history of the Academy Awards, following Peggy Ashcroft, who was 77 years old wApr 26, 2021
Youn Yuh-jung of 'Minari' wins Oscar for best supporting actress Youn Yuh-jung, winner of the award for best actress in a supporting role for "Minari," poses in the press room at the Oscars in Los Angeles, Calif., April 25. Reuters-YonhapYoun Yuh-jung has won best supporting actress at this year's Academy Awards for her performance in the immigrant film "Minari," becoming the first South Korean to win an acting Oscar.At the awards ceremony held at Union Station in Los Angeles, California, on Sunday (U.S. time), Youn was awarded Best Actress in a Supporting Role, beating Maria Bakalova for "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm," Glenn Close for "Hillbilly Elegy," Olivia Colman for "The Father" and Amanda Seyfried for "Mank.""Thank you. Tremendous thanks to the academy members who vote for me," she said in an acceptance speech after last year's best supporting actor winner Brad Pitt called her name. "Thank you, wonderful 'Minari' family, Steven (Yeun), (Lee) Isaac (Chung), (Han) Yeri, Noel (Kate Cho) and Alan (Kim). We became a family."She said she cannot believe that she is accepting an Oscar as she has watched the Academy Awards on TV for decades in Korea.SApr 26, 2021
INTERVIEW Jeon Yeo-been's journey from indie film darling to big-budget star Actress Jeon Yeo-been / Courtesy of Netflix By Kwak Yeon-sooIn the first few months of 2021, actress Jeon Yeo-been has starred in two different projects. She plays a feisty lawyer in tvN's drama series, “Vincenzo,” and a taciturn sharpshooter in the noir film, “Night in Paradise.” The two seemingly different characters have one striking similarity: both seek revenge against people who killed their families.“Vincenzo's Hong Cha-young becomes a relentless fighter for justice after her father dies. Jae-yeon of Night in Paradise also has a thirst for revenge after witnessing her family's murder,” she said during an interview with The Korea Times via Zoom, Friday. To play the stone-faced sharpshooter in the film, Jeon had to learn target shooting. “I was offered the role when I was filming the latter part of JTBC's Melo is My Nature (2019). I was worried about shooting guns in the beginning, so I went to shooting ranges for a few months before I started filming. As I worApr 25, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo
