 New
York Korean Film Festival 2015
November 6th – November 11th, 2015
The The 13th Annual New York Korean Film Festival 2015 took place from
November 6th - November 11th. The popular annual event showcased Korea
doing what it does best: the crime thriller, the romantic fantasy, and
feverish erotica. The Peninsula’s filmmakers bend genre cinema to
a uniquely Korean pulse and purpose, making the country’s national
film industry the most vibrant in East Asia. The thrilling complications
of love and crime steal the show in this year’s lineup, as partnerships
go south and fickle passions lead to betrayal. Resistance fighters navigate
the intrigue of colonial-era Korea, love affairs are smothered as quickly
as they are kindled, and hard-boiled cops dig at the ugly truth in a collection
of both massive blockbusters and favorites from the international festival
circuit, with five New York premieres and one international premiere.
The event took place at the Museum of the Moving Image located at 36-01
35 Ave, Astoria, Queens, NY, 11106. This was the first year Museum of
the Moving Image was served as a partner and the venue for the New York
Korean Film Festival, building on past collaborations with the Korea Society
and Subway Cinema..
The festival was attended by an exceptional group of Korean guests, including
star director Ryoo Seung-Wan and producers Kang Hye-jung and Park Jung
(Veteran); directors Shin Suwon (Madonna), Lee Do-yun (Confession), Kang
Hyo-jin (Wonderful Nightmare), Oh Seung-uk (The Shameless), and Hong Won-chan
(Office); and actress Koh Ah-Sung. AsiaFinest was on hand for most of
the film screenings that featured a guest stars. We took hundreds of pictures
and videos at the NYKFF 2015, so be sure to check them out. Below is a
quick summary of the movies that we covered during the NYKFF 2015.
New York Korean Film Festival 2015 OPENING NIGHT
Office
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 6:30 P.M.
New York Premiere With director Hong Won-chan and star Ko Ah-sung in person
Dir. Hong Won-chan. 2015, 111 mins. B.R. With: Ko Ah-sung, Park Seong-woong,
Bae Seong-woo.
After gruesomely murdering his family, a midlevel manager (Bae Seong-woo)
dutifully returns to the office, haunting the building like a vengeful
ghost and turning the otherwise bland workspace into a house of terror.
Legitimately alarmed, his colleagues nonetheless sing his praises to the
police—a hint that there’s more to the matter than a disgruntled
employee suddenly snapping.
Office
Screening Pictures || Videos: Q&A Part 1 | Q&A Part 2 (Reuploading
HD version)
Confession
With director Lee Do-yun in person
New York Premiere SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 3:15 P.M.
Dir. Lee Do-yun. 2014, 114 mins. DCP. With Ji Sung, Ju Ji-hoon.
Since a tragic mountain incident in high school, Min-soo (Lee Kwang-soo),
Hyun-tae (Ji Sung) and In-chul (Ju Ji-hoon) have remained best friends
through thick and thin. But when two of them agree to burn down an illegal
gambling hall for the insurance payout, the spilt blood of loved ones
unearths the bitter ghosts of a dark past. Soon, the group of childhood
friends turn on each other in the bleakest of fallouts. Lee Do-yun’s
debut feature has been compared with the slow-burning noir of Sidney Lumet’s
final film, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.
Confession
Screening Pictures || Videos: Q&A Part 1 | Q&A Part 2 (Reuploading
HD version)
The Shameless
With director Oh Seung-uk in person
New York Premiere SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 6:00 P.M.
Dir. Oh Seung-uk. 118 mins. DCP. With Jeon Do-yeon, Kim Nam-gil, Park
Sung-Woong.
In Oh Seung-uk’s highly anticipated return to the director’s
chair since his debut masterpiece Kilimanjaro in 2000, Cannes award-winning
actress Jeon Do-yeon plays a bar hostess in love with a suspected murderer.
Kim Nam-gil (The Pirates) is outstanding as a detective who plays a game
of seduction with a dangerous woman. Selected for the Un Certain Regard
program at the Cannes Film Festival, The Shameless is an unforgettably
stylish noir.
The
Shameless Screening Pictures || Videos: Q&A Part 1 | Q&A
Part 2 (Reuploading HD version)
Madonna
With director Shin Su-Won in person
New York Premiere SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2:00 P.M.
Dir. Shin Su-won. 2015, 121 mins. DCP. With Seo Young-hee, Kwon So-hyun,
Kim Young-min.
After her festival hit Pluto (2012), a critically acclaimed high-school
drama about bullying and murder which won a Special Mention at the 2013
Berlinale, director Shin Su-won delivers a shocking, noir-tinged tale
of privilege and poverty: a nurse's aide uncovers and tries to prevent
the horrific use of a brain dead pregnant street-walker for a heart transplant
to a rich patient.
Madonna
Screening Pictures || Videos: Q&A Part 1 | Q&A Part 2 (Reuploading
HD version)
Veteran
With director Ryoo Seung-wan in person
U.S. Festival Premiere SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 7:45 P.M.
Dir. Ryoo Seung-wan. 2015, 123 mins. DCP. With Hwang Jung-min, Yoo Ah-in,
Yoo Hae-jin.
In this instant action/comedy classic—a massive theatrical hit earlier
this summer—hardboiled detective Seo Do-cheol (top actor Hwang Jung-min
can throw—and take—a punch) and his misfit team defend the powerless
against the vicious scion of a prominent family (played with villainous
delight by heartthrob Yoo Ah-in, in a widely acclaimed performance).
Veteran
Screening Pictures || Videos: Q&A Part 1 | Q&A Part 2 (Reuploading
HD version)
Wonderful Nightmare
With director Kang Hyo-jin in person New York Premiere
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 7:00 P.M.
Dir. Kang Hyo-jin. 2015, 125 mins. DCP. With Uhm Jung-hwa, Song Seung-heon,
Seo Shin-Ae.
Heaven makes a clerical error, so ambitious lawyer Yeon-woo (played by
superstar Uhm Jung-hwa) returns to Earth to find herself married to a
salaryman and mother to a rebellious teenager and know-it-all six-year-old.
A sharp, hilarious satire about the shift in gender roles in contemporary
Korean society that struck a deep chord with local audiences.
Wonderful
Nightmare Screening Pictures || Videos: Q&A Part 1 | Q&A
Part 2 (Reuploading HD version)
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