Actor Gong Seung-yeon says her new movie “Aloners,” directed by Hong Seung-eun, reflects the feelings of loneliness that we have all been experiencing since the COVID-19 spread started last year. “We filmed this movie before COVID-19. Now we have all become used to keeping distance from each other and this movie is about how we can live well through this situation,” Gong said during a press conference held after a screening of the film at Lotte Cinema in Gwangjin-gu, Se

Local multiplex operators on Wednesday urged the government to come up with more effective financial support plans for theaters that have been severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Representatives of the Korean Theater Association, as well as four local multiplex operators -- CGV, Lotte Cinema, Megabox and Cine Q -- gathered at Megabox Dongdaemun in Seoul to express their concerns about the plight they have been facing. “The movie industry is a competitive cultural business that can b

  Korean director Erick Oh’s “Opera” has been nominated to compete for the title of best short film in the Annecy International Animated Film Festival this year. The nine-minute-long unconventional animated film, which won Oh the Minister’s Award at the 2020 Korea Contents Awards, is an 8K-resolution, massive animation installation piece that reflects on life, society and history. Oh’s film was the only Asian short animation and the only nonnarrative form a

The Jeonju International Film Festival wrapped up after a 10-day run on Saturday without a proper closing ceremony. The decision to downsize the closing ceremony was announced on Thursday night after the event organizer found out that one member of the audience and a festival organizing staffer tested positive for the coronavirus. Except for those two cases, there has not been any other reports of a further spread of the infection, the festival organizer said. Instead of the planned closing c

Youn Yuh-jung made a triumphant return to South Korea on Saturday, nearly two weeks after winning an Oscar for her role in the immigrant film "Minari." The South Korean actress, wearing a green bomber jacket, jeans and a white mask, waved to reporters as she arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, from the United States earlier in the day. She did not hold a news conference at the airport -- something that celebrities usually do as part of a hero's welcome -- due to

The Courier (US) Opened April 28 Thriller Directed by Dominic Cooke In 1960, Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze), an agent of the Soviet Union possesses a letter that contains important information which can prevent a nuclear war and hopes to send it to the CIA. To receive this letter, the CIA and M16 cooperate and send British salesman Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) as their spy to the Soviet Union. 　 　 Rain and Your Story (Korea) Opened April 28 Romance Directed by Jo Jin-mo  In 20

‘Kim Min-young of the Report Card’ co-directed by Lee Jae-eun, Lim Ji-sun wins Korean competition grand prize

The 22nd Jeonju International Film Festival on Wednesday announced its award winners after reviewing a total 194 films from 48 countries.  In international competition, Natalia Garayalde won the grand prize with her 69-minute documentary “Splinters” and was awarded with a cash prize of 20 million won ($18,000). “Splinters” depicts Argentina’s biggest political scandal through the lens of a 12-year-old girl. “Landscapes of Resistance” by Marta

Before playing So-hee in romance film “Rain and Your Story,” actor Chun Woo-hee was focusing on making a strong impression with dark and strong characters, like teenage rape victim Gong-ju in “Han Gong-ju” and the mysterious Mu-myeong in “The Wailing.” “I have played many serious roles, so I was thirsty for characters that are bright and down to earth,” Chun told reporters during a joint media interview via Zoom. Set mostly in 2003, “Rain

Angelina Jolie is returning to the big screen as a smoke jumper traumatized by her past work in the upcoming action thriller “Those Who Wish Me Dead,” directed by Taylor Sheridan. The movie hits theaters in South Korea on May 5, ahead of its release elsewhere in the world. For the 45-year-old American actor, taking part in the film was therapeutic. “I wasn’t feeling particularly strong coming into this. But to be able to get him (Connor, the child in the film) through

JEONJU, North Jeolla Province -- Director Srdan Golubovic, whose film “Father” opened the 22nd Jeonju International Film Festival, said he created the movie about poverty because many people in Serbia do not know it exists. “Many people in Serbia say they have never seen such poverty,” he told reporters during a Zoom interview on Friday. He explained that this is because they are ignorant, and poor people also tend to feel ashamed of themselves and live quietly. &ld

When director Park Hoon-jung, who helmed the award-winning 2012 crime thriller “New World,” was casting for his new movie “Night in Paradise” in 2019, actor Jeon Yeo-been was not as widely known as she is now. 　 “I appreciate director Park Hoon-jung for casting me and actor Eom Tae-goo in the lead roles,” Jeon said during a joint media interview held via Zoom on April 23. “I am really grateful that he trusted us and that he was willing to go on an adve

The immigrant film "Minari" has become the third movie to attract over 1 million viewers in South Korea this year, enjoying a post-award season bump on supporting actress Youn Yuh-jung's historic Oscar victory, data showed Monday. The US drama film about a first-generation Korean American family struggling to build a new life in rural Arkansas sold more than 23,900 tickets Saturday, bringing its combined total to over 1 million, according to the data from the Korean Film Council (KOFI

JEONJU, North Jeolla Province -- Actor Ryu Hyun-kyung on Friday introduced eight movies -- four features and four short films -- that she selected for “J Special: Programmer of the Year,” a new section at the 22nd Jeonju International Film Festival. “Organizing everything on our own is effective when establishing the festival’s identity. But there could also be different approaches (to movies),” the director of the 22nd Jeonju International Film Festival, Lee Joon

JEONJU, North Jeolla Province -- Eight directors of Korea’s international film festivals, including director of the 22nd Jeonju International Film Festival Lee Joon-dong, have jointly expressed their support for the democratic movement in Myanmar during a press conference on Friday. The conference, held at CINE Q Jeonju Film Street, began with a screening of the short film “Burma Spring 21.” The film centers on the military-led February coup in Myanmar and is directed collabo