The Troops Rally to Support BIFF

A few weeks ago I posted a little something about the trouble in Busan regarding the Director of BIFF, Lee Yong-kwan, being pressured by the Lord Mayor of Busan City to stand down from his position one year earlier than the expiry of his contract. The reason? because his festival showed the documentary 'Diving Bell' or 'The Truth Shall Nit Sink With Sewol' when the city had expressly requested that the festival not show the film. (read here for the background)

This is dangerous ground when politics expresses a desire to influence an independent film festival of international repute. Princess Park is putting her finger indirectly into the pie where she is most unwelcome. There has been an international response from festival directors, filmmakers and cineastes to the political manoeuvrings happening in the south of Korea.

Rather than bang on about stuff more eloquently written elsewhere here is a link that contains what the Director's of Cannes & Venice film Festivals say and what some of the filmmakers are saying in statements of support for BIFF and its director Lee Yong-kwan.
In English
In Korean
And another in English that also broadens the debate beyond Busan
Watch this space!

Lee Yong Kwan's domestic troubles are gaining International support

A Big Push in Busan

For all you fans of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) there’s been a little bit of news floating around that s very concerning. Call it trouble in paradise, just plain bullying or maybe it’s both. There are forces at work that want to remove the head of the festival, Director Lee Yong-kwan. This is not a mutiny on the good ship but the calls are coming from a once dear ally and supporter. 

BIFF is one of Asia’s premier film festivals and it is coming into it’s twentieth year. It is intrinsically linked to the City of Busan, having it’s own purpose built cinema centre that not only functions as the festival hub but also as a shiny example of the city’s ingenuity and vision. It’s a showcase of advanced architectural and engineering know how featuring the world’s largest outdoor cinema and the world’s largest cantilever roof, along with some beautiful cinemas, meeting rooms and offices.

It really is spectacular!

Busan Cinema Centre

The city supports the festival and the festival supports the city, it’s a symbiotic relationship and it’s been a happy marriage for many years. That is until last year.

Three events occurred in 2014 that are coming to a head now.

In April last year South Korea was in mourning after the ferry Sewol sank. Over three hundred people drowned, most of them school children on holiday excursion. Reeling in the tragedy the Nation came to a stand still and questions were asked of how and why this could happen. The new government of President Park came under the spotlight and many started to blame it’s inefficiencies and incompetency for the high death toll. Many questions have remained unanswered through stonewalling and blame shifting.

 

The second event was that, not surprisingly in a democratic country, this became ripe subject matter for a documentary and one was made that concentrated on just one aspect of the botched recue efforts. It’s subject and title was ‘Diving Bell’ (The Truth Shall Not Sink With Sewol) and it focused on the media coverage, the distortion of truth, the delays in deployment and the absolute hopelessness of the situation. It wasn’t entirely about finger pointing at the government but they didn’t come out of it looking too pretty. Six months later the documentary was scheduled to premier at BIFF, quite a coup for the festival, as this was politically hot! Controversial was an understatement.

The topsy turvy, it works both ways 'Diving Bell' BIFF Poster

 The third event was that 2014 saw a new mayor of Busan. Suh Byung-soo took up office in the July after ten years of his predecessor Hur Nam-sik. Normally the city left the programmers alone to do their job but before the festival started in October Lee Yong-kwan received a request from the City of Busan to withdraw the documentary from the festival. One could only speculate as to why ???

But as a true champion of the festival he declined the request and the documentary got two screenings, one with a Q&A session. This delighted the filmmaking community and cinephiles but city hall was not amused.

Protesters outside the Busan Cinema Centre getting the attention of the media prior to the first ‘Diving Bell’ screening. BIFF 2014

Both screenings were sold out and the Q&A was jam packed with media.

Diving Bell’  Producer & Director Q&A session post screening BIFF 2014

Photo: Brayden Alden

Fast forward to now, it’s pay back time.

City of Busan officials met with Lee Yong-kwan and requested he step down as Director of BIFF even though he has a bit more than a year left on his contract. Lee was a founding member of the festival in 1996, has been a programmer, a deputy director and has been its director since 2011.

The reasons for their request? The evolution of the festival, apparently there has also been some dissatisfaction from the city with how the festival has been run and how the budget has been spent.

Whatever the real reason is the filmmaking community is well alarmed and there is talk about boycotting the 2015 20^th edition of BIFF. There is lots of talk and dismay about politics getting involved with the festival’s programing but there is not a real lot of surprise. Critics of the current political regime of South Korea are becoming ever increasingly cynical.

Niu Doze Chen-Zer (Paradise in Service) & Lee Yong-kwan at last year's opening ceremony

The good news is that again in true champion style Lee Yong-kwan has refused to resign and BIFF management is bewildered that they are yet to be consulted on what is ultimately their responsibility and their decision regardless of where there support is coming from. This will be an ever evolving story because these just feel like opening shots of something that has the potential to be much bigger with ramifications to be felt far and wide.

Way beyond the confines of South Korea’s second largest metropolis.

Red Carpet for Opening Night, BIFF 2014.

Wowy Cowy, me as the paparazzi? nahhh, never. But popping off shots of celebrities was exactly what I did on opening night this BIFF. It takes quite a while to fill an outdoor cinema via a red carpet.
So the decision between passively watching this parade of actors and directors or taking it head on as undercover photographer was made with very little deliberation and here are the results.
No Shame!

Ryohei Otani & Dir. Kim Han-min  (Roaring Currents)

Lee Jung-hyun (Roaring Currents)

Watanabe Ken & Moon So-ri host's of the evening.

Kim Won hae doing it like a Gangster

Tang Wei & Dir. Ann Hui (The Golden Era)

Kim Soo-hyun (Level 7 Civil Servant, The Avengers)

Chen Jian Bin, Chen Yi Han, Juan Ethan, Wan Qian, Dir. Niu Doze Chen-Zer & Dir. Lee Yong-kwan

Paradise in Service Dir. Niu Doze Chen-Zer & BIFF 2014 Dir. Lee Yong-kwan

Dir. Shim Sung Bo + Han Ye-ri (Haemoo)

Cast from One on One and Dir. Kim Ki Duk

Han Ye-ri + Moon Seong-geun (Haemoo)

Lee Ha-Nui Honey Lee (Behind the Camera) & Kim Nam-gil (The Pirates)

Im Ji-yeon (Obsessed)

Kim Hee-ra and wife

Love Never Fails - Jang Hyun-sung, Oh Yu-jin & Choi Jungwon

Paradise in Service - Opening Night Film

Kim Gyu-ri, Dir. Im Kwon-Taek & Kim Ho-Jung (Revivre)

Kim Hee-ae (Elegant Lie)

Kim Hee-ae (Elegant Lie)

Kang Ye-won (The Huntress, Haeundae)

Jo Yeo-jung (The Target, Obsessed) + one

Jung Woo-sung + Esom (Behind the Camera)

Jung Yumi (Our Sunhi, In Another Country, Oki's Movie)

Kaho Minami, dir Ryuichi Hiroki & Lee Eun-Ho (Kabuki Lovehotel)

Well it was a bit of fun and it certainly passed the time before the official formalities.
It was amazing that I was where I was and was able to witness the passing parade.
Opening Night tickets sold out online within 3 minutes! It's a pretty in demand event.
What's not captured in the pictures is the clapping and cheering and screaming that is going on, depending heavily on who was on the carpet. There were some who got complete silence.
The rest of the night was sort of epic in scale and a bit weird too, ending in a screening of Paradise in Service. Which was great but that's not for here nor now.

19th BIFF, 2014. Build it and they will come

Yes I'm back in Southern South Korea, Busan to be exact.
and I'm back to attend the 19th Busan International Film Festival.
and yup I'm pretty excited again!

the cinema centre before the crowds

I've been writing about BIFF for the last four years and this is my second time attending.
There has always been a common theme for me and if you run through the blog archive (right hand side) each year around October you will read what I mean.
Sion Sono, Hong Sangsoo and Kim Ki Duk are three favourites who regularly deliver to this festival and this year is no exception.

 Tokyo Tribe is Sono's foray into the world of Hip Hop!!!! or is that just a gross misrepresentation?? Who cares? because anything Mr. Prolific does is guaranteed to be quite fucked up even if it be a journey closer to the mainstream

Hill of Freedom is Hong's shortest feature to date but still promises a lot of loop de loops with his fantastic narrative style with lashings of wry sense of humour.

One on One is Kim Ki-duk's brutal commentary on life today in Korea, though of course done in his own abstract kinda way....aparently. They say not his best work to date but hey, I'll watch his films anyday cause he's a fascinating story teller and a fascinating filmmaker.

 For me seeing these three films is enough and only Sion Sono is not in town for Q&A's but I secretly think he will jet in at the last minute, cause it's only just around the corner for him eh?

This is just the start, there is so much more going on at this festival but more on that later.

The 19th BIFF, 2014 is happening early October for about 10 days and one of the pleasures of being here a little bit early is that I see the stage get built, little bit by little bit.

Haeundae Beach

Snowpiercer does BIFF

Wowie Cowie, we're talk'n blockbuster on steroids.
Yet to be shown in the western world but so ripe to be the crossover hit, I was privilleged enough to see the director's cut because you guys at home will see a different version. The foreign film butcher/distributor Harvey Weinstein has the rights to the film in our territories, and he has the final edit rights too and I can guarantee it will be differnet. This is not just my opinion, Director Bong Joon Ho echoes the same sentiments.

Bong Joon Ho

The scenario is truly fantastic. The world has frozen over after a botched attempt to halt global warming and the only people alive are on a special purpose built train (a sorta Noahs Ark) that takes a year to travel around the world. If the train stops, they all die. The train is a complete and sustainable ecosystem. They have been on the train for 17 years.

Reflecting society the train has the haves and the have nots. The story starts in the tail end of the train where life is most shitful. Cramped, squalid, down trodden and fully resentful, these people are ripe for rebellion and the film follows their bloody struggle up through the train to get to the engine and hence have control of the train. It's gotta a lot of suspense and action and it's a rollicking tale.
Most of the film is in English and most of the cast are not Korean.

It's a real privilege to hear from the director his intentions after just seeing the film and I was lucky enough to hear him speak on two different occasions. The second time with Quentin Tarantino.

 There was a little bit of controversy about this film being screened at BIFF this year as it has had it's commercial cinema release in South Korea already earlier this year and the fact that it is a big budget blockbuster commercial type film. But the idea was that it is set for a large international release and that BIFF is attended by a largeish international audience and certainly at the screening I attended I think about half the audience were international. I for one very much welcomed the decision to show it. The film is a gas!

Tarantino & Bong shooting the breeze

Day 2 BIFFo

Touched by the hand of God
or in my case Sion Sono
Why Don't you Play in Hell?    Hell Yeah, why not?
The prodigious filmmaker who has failed to disappoint just tops it once again.
Well the two masks of drama have one who weeps (Sono's usual) and one who laughs (Sono's strength in this film) The brutality is still there, the gore is aplenty along with buckets of blood but the humour is dished up in spades. Plus all the coincidences of life for all the characters, the looped de dos, the brilliance of what was random at the start becomes profound by the end. the absolute fucking fantastical. Fans will not be disappointed but also those who are fresh and new to the master will love this feast. It's got it all! The Yakuza gang that swaps their 'western style' dress for the more traditional Kimono, Samurai sword slashing excesses, gigantic gun battle extraordinaire, film geek 'fuck bombers' death by broken glass....in the mouth, film god homages and a really catchy toothpaste ad.

and then at the end of the film in he walked for a twenty minute Q&A. The cinema went wild!

 

as did I. My Korean failed me and my Japanese is shit but sometimes just being in the presence of a holly one is enough.

Oh yeah and I literally was touched by him when he signed my ticket.

Pretty hard to top that one

but the next stop was Hannah Espia's Transit

This was its international premier after winning best film (+ a whole lot of other awards) at the Cinemalaya 2013 'New Breed' category in the Philippines. It's the story of Filipino migrant workers in Israel and specifically their children that have been born there. In 2009 there was a law passed that did not recognise these kids as Israeli and they started deporting them to their parents country of origin. Transit follows the life of one such broken family and their vain attempts to dodge the authorities. It's about identity and dislocation, striving for a better life but staying true to your roots. Visually it captures life in Israel, the coast of Jaffa, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv beautifully  but it also captures the tension and paranoia of those with something to hide. 

Hannah's background as an editor comes to the fore when she retrospectively decided to structure the film as 5 points of view of the same story. Sometimes we see the same scenario from a different view but we always get a little bit more of the story with each character. I love this sort of structure, reminiscent of of Hong Sang soo film but not quite as bold. It works very powerfully with this story and is backed up with strong performances.     

I'm used to writing about Mercedes Cabral in association with Brillante Mendoza's films but here she is as the recently arrived immigrant worker with no real permit. Very understated but great performance. A big tick to the director. But the real scene stopper is peanut, the little boy who eventually gets deported. his story is but one of five points of view of the same scenario but he is brilliant! Another stand out is Jasmine Curtis Smith as the older sister of peanut, truly a star to watch.

Jasmine Curtis Smith

Transit ticks a lot of boxes. Structure, Visuals and Performance  are all very strong and although the story is one of hopelessness you are not left at the end without hope. This is a very accomplished debut feature for the director and quite a beautiful experience to watch.

A great way to finish the day and then a very informative Q&A post film.

Hannah Espia & producer Paul Soriano

Yay this time I'm in Busan!!!

So for the last two years I've written, lamented about the Busan International film Festival. About how cool it is, the fantastic line up of films, about how far away it is and that I only read about it. This year I committed, I took the plunge and said to myself, I shall be there! No easy task, but guess what? I'm here in Busan!!!! HELL YEAH! I made the decision before the program was out but I thought it would be a safe bet. There have been no disappointments.  

outside the cinema centre

All my favourites are here. Hong Sang Soo (2 films), Sion Sono, Brillante Mendoza, Kim Ki Duk. If I see just these films I shall die happy. But there is oh so more. My pass/badge allows me 4 films per day, I'm here for 9, so the challenge is to resist just being in the cinema all day, all night. Must pace myself. You can book films up to 2 days in advance. So far it has turned out well but if you don't get in early films can be sold out.

Pascha by Seonkyoung AHN is the 1st Korean film in the account.
Love, desperation, melodrama and pussycats. I was in a bit of a delirious haze having just got in that morning but I do remeber some great scenes in this film. Like digging the frozen ground with a knife and thermos of hot water so that they could bury their cat who did not survive the surgery. Like insisting on wanting her freshly aborted fetus so that she could take it home to her boyfriend and the tension as she unwrapped the packaged for the grizzly reveal. Great performances by KIM So-hee 김소희,SUNG Ho-jun 성호준,SHIN Yeon-sook 신연숙 ranging from quite over the top but believable to sublimely understated and sharp as a knife. This was a world premier and although I was not in the best state for watching I'm glad I was there.

The intense love of Pascha

Death March by Adolfo ALIX JR is the first film from the Philippines.
This is a depiction of a brutal march of American & Filipino soldiers at the hands of their Japanese captors. A WWII POW film? you may ask. But beside the story, it is the way the film has been shot that makes it of interest. The majority is studio shot and the settings or the sets are very stylised.
In a world where we are used to our war films being 'real' this decision allows the audience to get deeper into the characters. The other decision that helps this is to present a series of vignettes of occurrence rather than a narrative arc of the main cast. These snippets are presented in a linear fashion but we jump forward and experience moments and then we jump forward to the next.
These moments are brutal, emotional and very human.