State-Funded Film Festivals Given Poor Grades
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The opening ceremony of the 2009 Pusan International Film Festival (file photo)
Six state-funded international film festivals in Korea scored poorly in 2009, a draft report reveals. According to the draft by an agency under the Culture Ministry exclusively obtained by the Chosun Ilbo on Wednesday, the festivals' average score dipped over 15 percent last year compared to the average of the three preceding years.
The report pointed out that funding needs to become more flexible in terms of the size and selecting beneficiaries. The film festivals showed "unsatisfactory results in competitiveness indexes such as contribution to the film industry, voluntary participation from overseas film industries, and efficient operation. Despite a continued rise in funding, their capabilities seem to have reached a limit", it added.
The report will be released in February after ministerial approval. Five evaluators gave their opinion on the project plan, implementation, results, problems and improvement measures, and general comments. "Information about the evaluators and average points for each film festival will not be made public. Instead a report integrating the quantitative and qualitative evaluations will be released", a ministry official said.
The international film festivals funded from state coffers last year were the Pusan International Film Festival, Pucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, Jeonju International Film Festival, International Women's Film Festival in Seoul, Seoul International Youth Film Festival, and Jecheon International Music and Film Festival. Total state funding for the festivals stood at W4.1 billion (US$1=W1,126).
According to the initial plan, "state funding was to be granted on a temporary basis until each film festival can stand on own feet. The biggest problem is that hosting the film festivals has not contributed to the development of the local film industry. There is room for improvement regarding unconditional state funding", the report said.
Six state-funded international film festivals in Korea scored poorly in 2009, a draft report reveals. According to the draft by an agency under the Culture Ministry exclusively obtained by the Chosun Ilbo on Wednesday, the festivals' average score dipped over 15 percent last year compared to the average of the three preceding years.
The report pointed out that funding needs to become more flexible in terms of the size and selecting beneficiaries. The film festivals showed "unsatisfactory results in competitiveness indexes such as contribution to the film industry, voluntary participation from overseas film industries, and efficient operation. Despite a continued rise in funding, their capabilities seem to have reached a limit", it added.
The report will be released in February after ministerial approval. Five evaluators gave their opinion on the project plan, implementation, results, problems and improvement measures, and general comments. "Information about the evaluators and average points for each film festival will not be made public. Instead a report integrating the quantitative and qualitative evaluations will be released", a ministry official said.
The international film festivals funded from state coffers last year were the Pusan International Film Festival, Pucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, Jeonju International Film Festival, International Women's Film Festival in Seoul, Seoul International Youth Film Festival, and Jecheon International Music and Film Festival. Total state funding for the festivals stood at W4.1 billion (US$1=W1,126).
According to the initial plan, "state funding was to be granted on a temporary basis until each film festival can stand on own feet. The biggest problem is that hosting the film festivals has not contributed to the development of the local film industry. There is room for improvement regarding unconditional state funding", the report said.
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