Forgot password

 

With a host of new filmmakers taking bold approaches to sensitive social topics in Korean society, a wave of new Korean independent cinema is preparing to wash onto foreign shores. This year’s 18th edition of the Busan International Film Festival showcased a throng of exciting new talent in the Korean indie field. Award winners pointed their lenses on a variety of subjects, from sex abuse and politics, to Korea’s work environment and entrenched social taboos.

 

Ever since Korean cinema made a name for itself on the international scene in the late 1990s, independent films have been at the forefront of what defines the global perspective of the industry. Auteurs such as KIM Ki-duk, HONG Sangsoo and JEON Soo-il made their presences felt at major festivals early and often. As with the rest of the industry, things on the independent scene have evolved at a fast pace. Remarkably, though it continues to face an uphill battle within a vertically integrated system that features major studios that not only produce, but distribute as well exhibit films, the number of indie featured has managed to grow in recent years.

 

Part of this growth can be attributed to easier access to high quality filmmaking equipment as cameras have grown more sophisticated and mobile while significantly dropping in price. In addition, the success of the industry as a whole has inspired young aspirants to take their chance by signing up to one the many high quality film schools available in the country. In the same vein, these educational institutes have been able to offer significant exposure to some of their pupils. For instance, the Korean Academy of Film Arts (KAFA), a subsidiary of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), partners with CJ Entertainment to distribute the graduate works of their feature film production program. Among films that have gained a foothold through this partnership are Bleak Night (2011), End of Animal (2011) and this year’s Tinker Ticker.

 

The Korean Film Council has remained a great supporter of Korean independent features over the years and rarely does one sit down to a Korean indie without catching a glimpse of the KOFIC logo in the opening credits. Over the years, their efforts to help the production and global distribution of Korean films have grown in tandem with their increased international visibility.

 

During that time, some directors, while continuing with their own films, have also been passing on the torch by taking on mentoring roles. KIM Ki-duk in particular counts directors CHANG Hun (The Front Line, 2010), JANG Cheul-soo (Bedevilled, 2010) and LEE Sang-woo (Barbie, 2011) among his former ADs. In addition to his own Moebius, films that he wrote and produced, including SHIN Yeon-shick’s Rough Play, MOON Si-hyun’s Godsend and LEE Joo-hyung’s Red Family, all recently had their world premieres at major international film festivals.

 

This year, a great number of new indies premiered at the Busan International Film Festival. BIFF has long been a tool to gauge the health of the independent scene and a way to see what direction it may be heading in, and 2013 was no different. This year’s award winners have demonstrated a particularly keen focus on the problems facing citizens of Korea today. Each of the five main Korean award winners at the 18th BIFF explored their chosen theme in a very direct fashion.

 

 

 

Aside from Pascha, all these films are debuts, demonstrating the remarkable talent and drive of young cineastes in Korea. Though not on the awards list, there were nevertheless other early first or second features with social bents that made an impact in Busan. Among those were YEUN Sang-ho’s sophomore animation The Fake, examining the terrible and destructive influence of fake religions in a small village, KIM Jae-han’s Thuy, showing the plight of a Vietnamese widow in a xenophobic small town, or Godsend’s twisted take on the desires and fears brought on by motherhood.

 

With a number of good reviews and major awards from one of the most well-regarded film festivals in Asia, this new wave of Korean independent cinema is poised to go far in the months and years to come. As Korean commercial is breaking records at the domestic box office, so too is Korean independent cinema scaling new heights and forging new modes of expression through the output of a committed, passionate and talented cadre of new filmmakers.

 

By Pierce Conran