New directors’ shorts to fill the silver screen

The 11th Mise-en-scene Short Film Festival to showcase 60 original pieces


A lot of local aspiring filmmakers must be excited, as the annual Mise-en-scene Short Film Festival is kicking off this year’s edition.

The festival, which celebrates its 11th installment this year, is dedicated to discovering new talent in Korea’s film scene. Some of the past winners of the festival include director Yoon Jong-bin, who later was invited to Cannes for his 2005 feature “The Unforgiven,” and Shin Jae-in, whose 2005 drama “Shin Sung-il is Lost” was invited to Berlinale in the same year.

This year, a total of 60 films have been selected among 926 submitted by aspiring filmmakers. There are five categories. Out of the 60, 17 films are in the socially conscious section; 13 in the romance section; 10 in the comedy section; 10 in the horror and fantasy section; and the last 10 belong to the action and thriller section.

The socially conscious section includes student director Kim Souk-young’s short “Anesthesia.” The movie is a true case-inspired account of a woman raped by a doctor while under anesthesia. Kim, who is a film student at Korea National University of Arts, was invited to this year’s Berlinale for the movie.

Other must-sees in the section include director Lee Woo-jung’s “Ad Balloon,” the winner of the Sonje Award at BIFF last year, and Park Sung-mi’s animated film “Bus, A Love Story,” a cinematic portrait of the people involved in the 2011 layoffs at Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction, as well as the “Hope Bus Campaign for World without Layoffs.”

In the romance section, aspiring filmmaker Kim Tae-yong’s “Night Bug,” a drama about a gay couple and a straight man who pretends to be gay to cheat on people to make money is a notable entry. Korean Academy of Film Arts student Park Hye-mi’s animated fantasy “Shadow Monster,“ on the other hand, has been included in the festival’s horror and fantasy section. Park was invited to the 14th Jeonju International Festival for the movie.

Meanwhile, Heo Myung-haeng, who has been working as a martial arts and sports director for many commercial films, such as “Take Off,” and “The Good, the Bad, and the Weird,” has made it to the festival’s action & thriller section with his debut action flick titled “Pandora.”

The winners of each category will receive five million won in prize money. Among the winners of the five sections, one filmmaker will be selected for the festival’s Grand Prix prize. The Grand Prix winner will be given an additional five million won.

The festival runs from June 28 to July 4 at CGV Yongsan in Seoul. For tickets and the full line-up, visit www.msff.or.kr or call (02) 927-5696.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)