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- Sixty Years of Companionship: Korean Cinema and the Berlin International Film Festival
- by AHN Young-yoon / Jan 26, 2017
- Korean Films which Have Been Invited to Berlinale
Among the numerous international film festivals, the Berlin International Film Festival is the one that has by far maintained the most consistent and long-termed relationship with Korean cinema. LEE Byung-il’s The Wedding Day (1956) is the film that introduced Korean films to the Berlin Film Festival as the first ever Korean film to be invited to Berlin, in 1957 for its 7th edition.The First Encounter between Korean Cinema and a Western Film Festival
60 years ago, when Korean cinema was showing the first signs of its resurgence after the Korean War, Berlin was the first major film festival in the West to take interest in Korean films. The 11th edition held in 1961 was definitely an unforgettable year. A Coachman (1961), directed by KANG Dae-jin and starring KIM Seung-ho as well as HWANG Jung-soon and SHIN Young-kyun, received then the Special Prize. Another Korean film, SHIN Sang-ok’s To The Death (1960), took the trophy the following year in 1962 while child actress JEON Young-sun received another Special Prize.Unfortunately this streak had to end sometime. Korean films were submitted every year between 1960 and 1970 without much success. Things changed for the better in the 1980s with IM Kwon-taek’s Mandara (1981). The 32nd edition of the festival in 1982 held a spotlight on Asian films, more specifically films from China, Hong Kong and Korea, whereby Mandara was invited to the Panorama section and received great attention.Subsequently, filmmaker IM Kwon-taek paved the way for Korean films in Berlin. His films such as Village in the Mist (1983), Kilsodeum (1986), Seopyeonje (1993), The Tae Baek Mountains (1994) and Festival (1996) have all been honored with an official selection, and during the 55th edition in 2005 IM even grabbed the Honorary Golden Berlin Bear for his 100th film Beyond The Years (2007).Ever since HAH Myung-joong’s Blazing Sun (1985) entered the competition, Korean films have been making valuable accomplishments in the ‘Forum of New Cinema’ section. The first of these successes belongs to the highly-praised A Wanderer Never Stops On The Road (1988), by LEE Jang-ho, which received the Caligari Film Award given to innovative works. During the 39th edition in 1989, PARK Kwang-su’s Chil-Su And Man-su (1988), JANG Sun-woo and SUNWOO Wan’s Seoul Emperor (1986) and KIM Dong-won’s documentary The Sang-kye dong Olympics (1988), as well as a certain number of political video documentaries, were introduced.Confirming the Rise of Korean Cinema in Berlin
In 1994, 8 years after Kilsodeum entered the competition, another Korean film joined the prestigious selection: JANG Sun-woo’s The Avatamska Sutra (1993). This film received the Alfred Bauer Prize given to a film that ‘opens new perspectives on cinematic art’.Afterwards, the Berlin Film Festival showcased the evolution of Korean cinema during the mid-90s. In 1997, PARK Chul-soo’s Farewell My Darling (1996) was invited to the Panorama section, while HONG Sang-soo’s The Day A Pig Fell Into A Well (1996) and YIM Soon-rye’s Three Friends (1996) were showcased in the Forum section.A major event took place in 1998 when a total of 14 Korean films were screened. A significant number among them were independent films, which included BYUN Young-joo’s The Murmuring (1995) and Habitual Sadness (1997), and KIM Dong-won’s Six Days Fight in Myong-Dong Cathedral (1997).This marked the beginning of a tight friendship between the Berlin Film Festival and the Korean independent and low-budget cinema. Quite a few films had the opportunity to meet with the audience at the Berlin Film Festival such as HONG Hyung-sook’s The Border City (2002), SHIN Dong-il’s Host & Guest (2006), CHO Chang-ho’s The Peter Pan Formula (2006) and JUHN Jai-hong’s Beautiful (2008).A Series of Accolades
The most notable outcome during that period was the Silver Berlin Bear for Best Director Award that KIM Ki-duk received for his film Samaritan Girl (2004). KIM Ki-duk was already a regular of the festival at that time, as he had already been invited to the Panorama section for Birdcage Inn (1998) and the competition for Bad Guy (2002).Also, LEE Yoon-ki became a regular guest in Berlin after he received the NETPAC Award with This Charming Girl (2005), while LEE Suk-gyung’s The Day After (2009) also won the NETPAC Award.We couldn’t leave out PARK Chan-wook’s privileged relationship with Berlin. After entering the competition in 2001 with Joint Security Area /JSA (2000), he returned with Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) in the 2003 Forum section, and his I’m a Cyborg, but That’s OK (2006) received the Alfred Bauer Prize.This year, HONG Sang-soo’s On the Beach at Night Alone will be in competition. He had already been invited to Berlin in the Panorama section with Woman On The Beach (2006), and competition with Night And Day (2008) and Nobody’s Daughter Haewon (2013). We’ll have to wait and see what’s in store for this new work from HONG Sang-soo.
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