The Korean Film Council’s decision to cut funding for the Busan International Film Festival by nearly half in 2015 has led to speculation that the quasi-governmental agency is trying to punish the festival for screening a politically controversial documentary last year.On April 30, the agency announced its 2015 funding decisions for six festivals as part of its international film festival development program. The BIFF was awarded a total of 800 million won ($740,000), down nearly half from 1.46

Scenes shot at a public parking lot in southern Seoul Marvel StudiosImages from scenes of the hit movie “Avengers: Age of Ultron” shot in Seoul were revealed for the first time on Monday. Film shoot in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province Marvel StudiosIn the behind-the-scenes images, “Avengers” heroes Captain America and Black Widow can be seen filming stunt scenes against the backdrop of familiar landmarks of Seoul such as Mapo Bridge and the back allies of the Gangnam area.Film shoot in Uiwang, Gyeonggi

The Hollywood blockbuster "Avengers:Age of Ultron" has become the fastest foreign film to surpass 6 million viewers in South Korea, the film's distributor said Saturday. (Avengers:Age of Ultron)The superhero flick exceeded the 6 million mark in attendance on Saturday, the 10th day of its run, according to the Walt Disney Co. Korea.The film, the sequel to the 2012 work "The Avengers," has also grossed more than 51.2 billion won ($47.66 million).The Avengers 2 reached the 6 million milestone, just

The 16th year of the nation’s second-largest film festival kicked off Thursday at Jeonju Sports Stadium.The outdoor stadium was packed with fans as stars lined the red carpet and opening ceremony cohosts Kim Dong-wan and Im Sung-min took the stage to officially begin the Jeonju International Film Festival. Kim Dong-wan is a member of boy band Shinhwa, while Lim Sung-min is an anchorwoman-turned-actress.  Lim Sung-min and Kim Dong-wan host the opening ceremony of the JIFF at Jeonju Sports Stadium

“Interstellar” producer Lynda Obst believes grounded science is more exciting than fiction. “Science can inspire you if you can tell a great story behind it,” Obst said in a press conference ahead of her keynote speech at the Culture Technology Forum at Coex Center in Seoul on Thursday. “You can turn the world on to these big ideas through character and story,” she said, referring to the link between time and space illustrated in the internationally acclaimed hard sci-fi epic “Interstellar.” The

Director Han makes impressive feature debut with noir crime drama

Marvel superheroes continue to take over multiplex theaters

Coin Locker Girl (Korea)Opening April 29Drama. Directed by Han Jun-heeThe dark underworld of loan sharks, drugs, and commissioned kills are all Il-young (Kim Go-eun) knows as she grows up under the wing of Mother (Kim Hye-soo), the crime boss who bought Il-young when she was a little girl. Il-young is blindly loyal to Mother until she catches a glimpse of a normal life through her unlikely friendship with Suk-hyun (Park Bo-gum), the son of a debtor. Chaos ensues as Il-young slowly turns her back

“The Shameless,” a new film from director Oh Seung-uk starring Jeon Do-yeon and Kim Nam-gil, is described by its filmmakers as a “hardboiled melodrama-romance.” As one of the official selections invited to the sidebar “Un Certain Regard” competition of the 68th Cannes Film Festival, the film has been stoking curiosity about how Oh would bring together the seemingly antithetical genres of hardboiled and romance.“In terms of genre, the movie is closer to romance,” Oh said at a press conference at

Director Joss Whedon dispenses with all introductions and jumps straight into the action in the hotly anticipated “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” The opening sequence kicks off with the Avengers raiding a HYDRA stronghold in the snowy mountains of Sokovia, kicking, punching and blasting their way to capture Loki’s powerful scepter. From there, the action never slows down throughout the 140-minute film screened for the media at CGV Wangsimni on Tuesday. But between the heavy gunfire and scorched metal

Two films about families struggling with disabilities will hit theaters side by side on April 23, three days after the designated national day to raise awareness about physical disabilities. Despite their common subject matter, the films present a striking contrast in their portrayals of life with disabilities.The first film is “Glittering Hands,” the first full-length feature film from 25-year-old Lee-Kil Bora that received accolades at the Seoul Independent Film Festival and the Persons with D

The Avengers: Age of Ultron (U.S.)Opening April 23Adventure. Directed by Joss WhedonTony Stark attempts to revive a dormant peacekeeping program, but the situation takes a bad, dangerous turn. The Avengers -- Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) -- team up again to save the world from the villainous Ultron’s plans.The Gunman (U.S.)Opened April 16Action.

The Avengers superheroes are back to save the world from a rogue robot.The cast and crew of Marvel’s blockbuster “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” including director Joss Whedon, Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, came to Seoul to promote the film ahead of its official opening. They were joined by Mark Ruffalo and Kim Soo-hyun at a press conference at the Conrad Hotel in Yeouido on Friday.“We really started the movie by coming here, and this is actually the hotel where Claudia auditioned for a role,” d