8th Gwangju Int'l Film Festival Kicks Off
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The 8th edition of the Gwangju International Film Festival (GIFF) opens Dec. 4 with curtain-raiser "The Code" by Japan's Kaizo Hayashi. The fest distinguishes itself from such heavyweights as Pusan and Jeonju by being a non-competitive five-day event that highlights emerging directors of recent years as well as unearthing classics from Korea and abroad.
The Korean Film Council and the Korean Film Archive are joint sponsors of the festival, which runs until Dec. 8 with a line-up of 40 films. A GIFF highlight is the retrospective on late Korean author Lee Chung-jun, with 5 features based on his works. They are "Oyster Village" (1972) by Chung Jin-woo, "Ieodo" (1977) by Kim Ki-young, and 3 features by Im Kwon-taek: "Seopyeonje" (1993), "Festival" (1996) "Beyond the Years" (2007) by Im Kwon-taek.
Films by two up-and-coming directors from Korea and Japan will screen under the heading 'Young Cinema Division'. They are "Still Strange" (2008) by Lee Hong-jae and "The Clone Returns Home" (2008, Japan) by Kanji Kanajima.
The World Cinema section features 7 diverse titles, while the Catherine Deneuve Retrospective presents 5 films by French masters. A Korean Short Film Special rounds out the program. Tickets can be reserved through the Megabox online system and GIFF's website is viewable at http://www.giff.org
Nigel D'Sa (KOFIC)
The Korean Film Council and the Korean Film Archive are joint sponsors of the festival, which runs until Dec. 8 with a line-up of 40 films. A GIFF highlight is the retrospective on late Korean author Lee Chung-jun, with 5 features based on his works. They are "Oyster Village" (1972) by Chung Jin-woo, "Ieodo" (1977) by Kim Ki-young, and 3 features by Im Kwon-taek: "Seopyeonje" (1993), "Festival" (1996) "Beyond the Years" (2007) by Im Kwon-taek.
Films by two up-and-coming directors from Korea and Japan will screen under the heading 'Young Cinema Division'. They are "Still Strange" (2008) by Lee Hong-jae and "The Clone Returns Home" (2008, Japan) by Kanji Kanajima.
The World Cinema section features 7 diverse titles, while the Catherine Deneuve Retrospective presents 5 films by French masters. A Korean Short Film Special rounds out the program. Tickets can be reserved through the Megabox online system and GIFF's website is viewable at http://www.giff.org
Nigel D'Sa (KOFIC)
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