The Korean Film Festival (KFF) in the Philippines is back with live screening after two years since the pandemic started.
This year’s film festival will open on Aug. 10 with seven Korean movies at SM Aura Premier in Taguig for selected audiences.
The Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in the Philippines, under the Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS), is inviting everyone to watch the movies that were originally released in 2020 and 2021.
These are “Deliver Us From Evil” (directed by Hong Wonchan, 2020), “Escape from Mogadishu” (directed by Ryu Seung-wan, 2021), “The Novelist’s Film” (directed by Hong Sangsoo, 2021), “Miracle: Letters to the President” (directed by Lee Janghoon, 2021), “Snowball” (directed by Lee Woojung, 2021), “The Day I Died” (directed by Park Jiwan, 2020), and “Perhaps Love” (directed by Jo Eunji, 2021).
According to KCC, these movies will be shown in five outlets of SM Cinemas in Metro Manila.
The opening film “Deliver Us From Evil” will be screened at Cinema 2 of SM Aura Premier. The public screening for all seven films will be available from Aug. 11 to 14 at SM Mall of Asia, SM Megamall, SM City Grand Central, SM North Edsa and SM Southmall. The public screening follows a first come, first served basis.
Two Korean film directors will attend the opening ceremony. They are Hong Wonchan who helmed “Deliver Us From Evil” and Lee Woojung who directed “Snowball.” The audience will be able to meet and ask questions from them after the opening film screening on Aug. 10.
Hong Wonchan is prominent among the so-called post-Korean film directors, and has directed several hit films. “Deliver Us From Evil” attracted almost 4.36 million of Korean moviegoers in the midst of the pandemic in 2020.
His debut film “Office” was also invited to the 68th Cannes Film Festival’s midnight screening in 2015.
Lee Woojung is a promising female independent film director who continues to contribute to the Korean independent film industry. She started her career as an actress after studying theater and film in university. She directed her first independent short film “Neither to die nor to leave” in 2012 and began to get more attention through her recent film “Snowball.”
There will also be the “Talk with the Filmmakers” on Aug. 11, 1:30 p.m. at the FDCP Cinematheque Centre Manila where the two directors will share the challenges and processes in filmmaking.
Two Filipino film directors will also join the talks and share their own experiences. This event aims to show the exchanges of both countries’ film industries, and to deliver advice and knowledge about film production and filmmaking to the Filipino audiences, especially to Filipino film students.
The 2022 Korean Film Festival is in partnership with the Film Development Council of the Philippines, Korean Film Council, Korean Tourism Organization Manila Office, and SM Cinema.