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Earlier this month, Korean film professionals arrived en masse in Hong Kong for the state’s annual collection of major film events, the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (HK FilMart), the Hong Kong Asian Film Financing Forum (HAF), the Asian Film Awards (AFA), and, of course, the Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF).

 

As an industry leader in the region, Korean cinema was well represented at each event, with the Korean Film Council (KOFIC - Chairman, KIM Sae-hoon) leading a contingent of Korean sales outfits at FilMart, the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) being one of the founding organizers of the AFAs, and a quartet of films representing Korea at HKIFF.

 

 

 

In previous years, all three events have overlapped, with the market and festival kicking off on the same day. But this year FilMart, which is organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), was moved up a week and began on March 14th. In the main hall of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, KOFIC manned a pavilion which assembled a large delegation of Korean sales companies, visual effects and post-production outfits, and festivals and regional commissions.

 

For the most part, Korea’s major film distributors, such as CJ Entertainment, FINECUT and M-Line Distribution, presented the same lineups as they did last month at the European Film Market (EFM) during the Berlin International Film Festival. Nevertheless, there were a few additions as companies presented market premiere screenings of new films.

 

Contents Panda presented the revenge thriller Missing You starring SHIM Eun-kyoung (Miss Granny, 2014) and the buddy comedy-drama THE LAST RIDE with RYU Deok-hwan (Like A Virgin, 2006) and AHN Jae-hong (The King of Jokgu, 2014). United Pictures debuted the DMZ mystery-thriller MUSUDAN and romcom thriller Life Risking Romance with local star HA Ji-won (Sector 7, 2011) and Taiwanese actor CHEN Bolin. And 9ers Entertainment showcased THE GREAT ACTOR, the first leading man vehicle for veteran character actor OH Dal-su (Veteran, 2015).

 

Among sales reported during the market, Showbox scored a number of deals for its thriller A Violent Prosecutor, with HWANG Jung-min (Veteran) and GANG Dong-won (The Priests, 2015), and melodrama A Man and A Woman, from My Dear Enemy (2008) director and star LEE Yoon-ki and JEON Do-yeon. A Violent Prosecutor was snatched up by Twin (Japan), Lemon Tree (China), Movie Cloud (Taiwan), MVP Viva (the Philippines) and Emphasis (worldwide in-flight rights) while A Man and A Woman went to Klockworx (Japan), AV-Jet (Taiwan), MVP Viva and Emphasis.

 

Korean major Lotte Entertainment, which skipped EFM this year, made its 2016 market debut in Hong Kong, leading its slate with the Colonial Era music-themed romantic drama LOVE, LIES, from Memories of the Sword director PARK Heung-sik and featuring actors HAN Hyo-joo (The Beauty Inside, 2015), CHUN Woo-hee (HAN Gong-ju, 2014) and YOO Yeon-seok (The Royal Tailor, 2014), as well as the thriller The Hunt, with legendary actor AHN Sung-ki. The Hunt is produced by KIM Han-min, director of Korea’s most successful film of all time, Roaring Currents (2014). Also on Lotte’s slate was director HUR Jin-ho’s latest, the Colonial Era melodrama The Last Princess with SON Ye-jin (The Pirates, 2014) and PARK Hae-il (War of the Arrows, 2011).

 

Among the other Korean outfits making their market debuts for the year were INDIESTORY, which held a screening for its Marrakech International Film Festival Jury Prize winner Steel Flower from PARK Suk-young, Little Big Pictures, which staged a screening of melodrama UNFORGETTABLE with K-pop boy band EXO member DOH Kyung-soo (aka D.O.), and Central Park Films, a short film distributor making its first foray into feature film sales with LEE Jun-hak’s THE SALT PLANET and the anthologies Urban Evil and Neighbors, featuring shorts that earned acclaim at festivals around the world.

 

Meanwhile, there was one Korean participant at the Hong Kong Asian Film Financing Forum this year. Coming from the Network of Asian Fantastic Films (NAFF), where it was introduced, PARK Jung-bum presented Never Die Again, a period martial arts drama about sword-fighting. PARK has drawn international acclaim and a slew of awards for his gritty indie dramas, The Journals of Musan (2011) and Alive (2015). Last year, Never Die Again won the Wave Lab Award for post-production sound support at NAFF.

 

 

 

FilMart wrapped up on March 17th, the same day as the presentation of the Asian Film Awards at The Venetian Hotel and Casino in Macau. Korean films were nominated in every single category this year but ultimately only converted two of those nominations into wins as HOU Hsiao-hsien’s The Assassin proved the big winner of the night, earning eight awards (including Best Film, Director and Actress) out of its nine nominations.

 

That ninth nomination was won by Korean period drama The Throne, which won Best Costume Design for the work of LEE Ji-yeon and SHIM Hyun-seop. The other Korean award was for Best Actor, which was won by global star LEE Byung-hun (Terminator Genisys) for his role in political action-thriller Inside Men. Meanwhile, Veteran and The Throne actor YOO Ah-in also received the Next Generation Award during the night.

 

The event was co-hosted by Korean actress and singer Clara, who was conferred a Rising Star Award at an event held the night before. K-pop girl group Apink performed a two-song set midway through the awards.

 

 

 

A few days after FilMart and the AFAs, the Hong Kong International Film Festival kicked off its 40th edition, opening with screenings of YANG Qing’s Chinese drama Chongqing Hot Pot and the Johnnie TO-produced Hong Kong anthology thriller Trivisa.

 

Among this year’s Gala Presentations was E J-yong’s elderly sex worker drama The Bacchus Lady, featuring YOUN Yuh-jung (The Housemaid, 2010) and YOON Kye-sang (Poongsan, 2011). The film premiered last month in the Panorama section of the Berlin International Film Festival, while international sales agent M-Line distribution also put on screenings of the film the week before in FilMart.

 

Following its Best Actor win at the AFAs, Inside Men was another Korean film in HKIFF’s lineup. The film was a major hit in Korea, accruing over 9 million admissions with the release of its standard and director’s cut late last year. Joining it was the high concept comedy-drama Collective Invention, with PARK Bo-young (A Werewolf Boy, 2012) and LEE Kwang-soo (Confession, 2014), which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival last September.

 

Finally, HKIFF also presented a restored print of IM Kwon-taek’s 1987 classic The Surrogate Womb. The film earned Korean cinema one of its earliest major prizes on the festival circuit, netting actress KANG Soo-yeon, who currently serves as the Director of the Busan International Film Festival, the Best Actress Award at the Venice International Film Festival.