Forgot password

 

Following the recent announcement that the documentary Captain Kang would be vying in the main competition of the 48th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, three more Korean films will be joining it at the prestigious Czech film celebration.

 

The ‘Horizon’ section will feature two Korean films that have been prominent on the international festival circuit in recent months. CHUNG Ji-young’s National Security, which premiered to great acclaim at the 17th Busan International Film Festival, is a brutal exposé of one man’s illegal detainment and torture in the 1980s during the oppressive CHUN Doo-hwan administration. The political film drew praise from many quarters and has since screened at the Fribourg International Film Festival and the Udine Far East Film Festival, while it is also scheduled to appear at the New York Asian Film Festival in the coming weeks.

 

Also in the ‘Horizon’ lineup will be HONG Sangsoo’s latest film Nobody’s Daughter Haewon, which has screened at a number of international events such as the Buenos Aires and Hong Kong International Film Festivals, following its premiere in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival. The film has succedded in launching its young lead JUNG Eun-chae into the spotlight.

Elsewhere, JEON Soo-il’s El Condor Pasa, another film that bowed in Busan, will be screened as part of the ‘Another View’ program. The low-budget indie examines the grief of a priest and a woman following a young girl’s death.

 

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, which will take place from June 28th to July 6th this year, is one Europe’s oldest and most illustrious film events. The festival has had a strong relationship with Korean cinema since the 1990s, when it became one of the first major events to invite Korean films. Over the years, Korean indie filmmakers have featured prominently at the premiere Czech film celebration: such as KIM Ki-duk who took part with Birdcage Inn in 1999 and Time in 2006; JEON Soo-il’s With a Girl of Black Soil and Himalaya, Where the Wind Dwells participated in 2008 and 2009, respectively; HONG Sang-soo’s Night and Day was feature in 2008; and LEE Chang-dong, whose Peppermint Candy took the Jury Award in 2001.