Korean film "Poetry" to premiere in U.S. this fall

Published on 2010/05/27 | Source

Official poster for film "Poetry" [Uni-korea]

Korean film "Poetry", which won the award for best screenplay at this year's Cannes Film Festival, will premiere in the United States this fall, according to the film's distributer Unikorea Culture & Art Investment Co., Ltd. on Thursday.

Unikorea said KINO LORBER picked up the rights for the film in the U.S., showing their confidence in "Poetry" by quoting Manohla Dargis from the New York Times who said, "Actor Yoon Jung-hee's performance in the film was the most memorable production out of the (Cannes) festival".

The company also claimed that they are aiming at claiming a prize in the foreign language film category in the upcoming Academy Awards in the U.S after its release in the autumn of this year.

KINO LORBER is known for having bought many international films including "Happy Together" by Wang Kar Wai, "Funny Games" by Micahel Haneke, "Metropolis" by Fritz Lang and "Scandar Capti" by Ajami, as well as Korean films such as "The President's Last Bang (2005)", "Untold Scandal (2004)", and "Tell Me Something (1999)".

"Poetry" had first stirred attention when French film distributor Diaphana decided to invest and purchase rights for the movie even before it went into production by solely reviewing the basic outline of the story.

The film then sold its rights to nine countries including Taiwan, Spain, Greece, Russia, former Yugoslavia, Benelux, and Brazil, during the Cannes Film Market held concurrently with the Cannes Film Festival.

"Poetry" is negotiating with several other states, namely Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan, who have also shown strong interest in buying rights for the film.

"Poetry", starring veteran actress Yoon Jung-hee as an elderly woman who learns how to write her own poems while fighting Alzheimer's, was released in Korea on May 13.