It was a big year for Korean cinema at the Berlin International Film Festival, with two major prizes going to Korean films, including a Silver Bear for actress KIM Min-hee, for her role in Hong Sangsoo’s On the Beach at Night Alone, but there was also plenty of action for Korean film sellers happening behind the scenes during the European Film Market (EFM) taking place at the same time.

During a market that featured the most expensive EFM deal of all time, a reported USD 17.5 million for the Dwayne Johnson-starring comedy-drama Fighting With My Family and plenty of business from online giants Amazon Studios and Netflix, several Korean films screened while a broad range of commercial and indie fare was introduced in Berlin. Unsurprisingly, many of the Korean lineups were dominated by thrillers, which remain the bread and butter of the industry, particularly for foreign buyers. However, with less marquee name titles, such as PARK Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden, which was a big EFM seller last year for CJ Entertainment, reported sales were varied across genre and budget size this year.

Most of the deals involved distributors in Southeast Asia but Japanese buyers were also particularly active with Korean titles during this year’s EFM, with outfits such as Klockworx, Maxam, Gaga Communications, Twin, New Select and Hark and Company acquiring a diverse selection of films. Taiwanese purchasers weren’t far behind with several acquisitions from Movie Cloud, AV-Jet and Long Shong. Many films were also picked up for in-flight distribution by Emphasis and GEE.

Showbox, last year’s best performing film studio in Korea, with hits such as A Violent Prosecutor and Tunnel, was strong out of the gate in Berlin, scoring several deals for its new thriller The Prison, starring KIM Rae-won (Gangnam Blues, 2015) as a cop who winds up in a jail controlled by an inmate played by HAN Suk-kyu (The Berlin File, 2013).

The distributor also presented several new titles, including the election drama The Mayor from Moby Dick (2011) director PARK In-jae with CHOI Min-shik, Friend (2001) director KWAK Kyung-taek’s supernatural thriller RV: Resurrected Victims, also with KIM Rae-won, and the 1980s period drama A Taxi Driver from Secret Reunion (2010) director JANG Hun with SONG Kang-ho and Thomas Kretschmann.

Korean major CJ Entertainment had another big year in Berlin, finding success with a number of major thriller titles. Leading sales was CJ’s most recent chart topper Fabricated City, from Welcome To Dongmakgol (2005) helmer PARK Kwang-hyun, which was sold to 31 markets. Other big sellers including their recent crime thriller hit Master, with LEE Byung-hun, GANG Dong-won (The Priests, 2015) and KIM Woo-bin (Twenty, 2015), Lunar New Year hit Confidential Assignment, with Hyun-bin (The Fatal Encounter, 2014) and YOO Hae-jin (Veteran, 2015), and their Vietnamese action-comedy Saigon Bodyguards, which was a big hit in Vietnam late last year.

United Pictures, which distributes titles made by OPUS Pictures, brought several titles to Germany, including the courtroom drama New Trial, which had two market screenings at EFM and secured several sales. With KANG Ha-neul (DONGJU; The Portrait of A Poet) and JUNG Woo (The Himalayas, 2015). United also presented the new thriller Ordinary Person with Hide and Seek’s (2013) SON Hyun-ju and LEE Yoon-ki’s new drama One Day with CHUN Woo-hee (THE WAILING) and KIM Nam-gil (Pandora).

 

Presenting a mix of commercial and arthouse titles was M-Line Distribution, which came away with several deals on a number of titles. E.oni’s kidnap thriller MISSING, starring KONG Hyo-jin (Crush And Blush, 2008) and UHM JI-won (The Silenced, 2015), their action-comedy PART-TIME SPY, with KANG Ye-won (INSANE) as an undercover agent at a voice phishing scam center, and the gritty indie Derailed, with Min-ho of K-pop band SHINee stars alongside TRAIN TO BUSAN’s Don LEE.

M-Line’s lineup also included the drama A Single Rider with LEE Byung-hun (Inside Men, 2015) and KONG Hyo-jin, the period noir drama The Tooth and the Nail, from directors JUNG Sik (Epitaph, 2007) and KIM Hwi (The Neighbors, 2012), and the crime drama A Special Lady with KIM Hye-soo (Coin Locker Girl, 2015).

Indie distributor Mirovision drummed up business with Japan on My New Sassy Girl, sequel to the 2001 hit My Sassy Girl, the North Korean defector drama Sunshine, and the indie How to Break up with My Cat. Mirovision also sealed deals on their titles Canola and Malice across Asia while their market screening included indie titles Road to Utah and DELTA BOYS.

Without the help of an official sales agent, the documentary Becoming Who I Was, which was invited to the Generation Kplus section, where it won the Grand Prize, was sold to Bond/360 for distribution in the United States. The film’s co-director and producer JEON Jin brokered the deal. The film, which debuted at the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival and screened at the Busan International Film Festival, follows the life of a young Buddhist rinpoche.

Outside of reported sales, other major distributors also showed off their wares at the market. Contents Panda presented their next major title in EFM, the con man thriller One-Line (working title) to buyers with a special screening. The debut film by YANG Kyung-mo features IM Si-wan (The Attorney, 2013), of K-pop group ZE:A and JIN Goo (Northern Limit Line, 2015) and tells the story of a college student who enters a life of crime when he meets a real estate con man.

Also on Contents Panda’s slate were upcoming films such as mystery-thriller The Mimic from Hide and Seek (2013) director HUH Jung, and the KIM Ok-vin (Thirst, 2009) led action-thriller The Villainess (working title), from Confession of Murder (2012) director JUNG Byung-gil.

Lastly, FINECUT, still hot from the recent sales success of NA Hong-jin’s THE WAILING and KIM Jee-woon’s The Age of Shadows, and which presented the Silver Bear-winning On the Beach at Night Alone in Berlin, presented new titles in its lineup. These included the mystery fantasy Glass Garden from Madonna (2015) director SHIN Su-won, which stars MOON Geun-young of A Tale Of Two Sisters (2003) as a reclusive but brilliant researcher who is approached by a writer, and the corruption thriller True Fiction with JI Hyun-woo (Attack The Gas Station 2, 2010) and OH Man-seok (DETOUR). Also among their EFM slate were the mystery drama A Day and the mystery thriller House of the Disappeared.