The 국도 예술관 and Korea's National Movie Industry

Last year, after the 2010 edition of the Busan International Film Festival, I compared Busan's yearly cinema celebration with a movie theater that is dear to my heart, namely the Bytowne cinema in Ottawa.  When I did so, I had not forgotten the distinction between a movie theater and a movie festival.  I simply thought that only during the BIFF would it be possible to view movies in Busan like those shown every day at the Bytowne cinema in Ottawa.

Well, I was wrong...  Busan has an independent cinema house very similar to the Bytowne cinema, called the Guk-Do theater (국도 예술관).   

The 국도 예술관 is located in the Daeyeon district of Busan (대연동).  There, on a quiet residential street, not far from the UN Memorial Park (UN기념공원) and the Busan Cultural Center (부산시문화회관), the 국도 예술관 shares a space with a concert venue known as the Karam concert hall (가람 예술관).  Together, they are known as the Guk-Do and Karam Fine Art Hall (국도와가람 예술관).

The street in front of the 국도 예술관.

The entrance of the 국도와가람 예술관.

When I discovered the 국도 예술관, I expected that many foreign films (films made outside of Korea) would be shown there.  Many foreign films are indeed shown at the 국도 예술관.  In the last few months, films from the United States, from Germany, from France and from Japan were shown.  But to my surprise, a large number of the films shown during the same period were made in Korea.

Posters advertising the films showing at the 국도 예술관.

Korea, I discovered, has a thriving independent film industry.  Many small budget films, often featuring realistic portrayals of life in Korea, are made every year.  Films like Re-encounter (혜화, 동), a drama about a woman who's ex-lover reappears in her life after a prolonged absence and tells her that her daughter, who she thought had died, is actually alive and living with a family nearby.  Or like The Day He Arrives (북촌 방향), about the adventures of a group of friends in Seoul's BukChon neighbourhood (북촌).  Or like The Journals of Musan (무산일기), based on the true story of a North Korean defector living in Seoul.  This latter film gained international recognition earlier this year, receiving honours at film festivals in Korea, Morocco, France, the Netherlands, and Poland.

I enjoyed watching these films, in spite of my lack of knowledge of the Korean language, because all of them contained beautiful images of Korea.  In addition, via the actors' visual cues, I could understand pretty well what was going on during most scenes, especially if I had read an English synopsis beforehand.  I highly recommend these films.  And if you're in Busan, you should check out the 국도 예술관.

One World Film Festival Now On in Ottawa

As the Busan International Film Festival winds down in Korea, the One World Film Festival is beginning in Ottawa.

The 2011 One World Film Festival poster.

There are many film festivals held every year in Canada, some of which, like the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), are famous around the world.  But in addition to big festivals like the TIFF, many smaller film festivals are held as well.  The One World Film Festival, though not as famous as the TIFF, is just as interesting.

The One World Film Festival is an annual event, now in its 22nd edition, held in Canada's capital city.  It is organized by World Inter-Action Mondiale (WIAM), a mostly volunteer-run public education NGO.  The festival features documentary films about issues of importance to people from all over the world.  Films shown at the One World Film Festival generally touch upon three broad themes, namely human rights, social and economic justice / development, and environmental sustainability.  For additional information about the One World Film Festival, reviews published in French and in English on Radio-Canada International are quite insightful.

The world is a big place, and it is often difficult for people from one part of the world to understand what life is like for people living somewhere else.  The One World Film Festival makes this easier for the people of Ottawa.  In addition, the festival is a fun occasion for Ottawans to socialize and get to know each other as well.  Because of this, the One World Film Festival is an important community building event in Ottawa.

Classic Korean Films at the 2011 BIFF

As part of the 2011 Busan International Film Festival, a series of classic Korean films is being presented.  More specifically, eight of the films of Kim Ki-Duk (김기덕), a well-known Korean filmmaker, are being shown as part of the 2011 BIFF.

김기덕's career spanned two decades, beginning in the early 1960's, and ending with his retirement in 1977.  During that period, he created a diverse array of films, one of which is a horror film called Monster Yonggari (대괴수 용가리), about a Godzilla-like lizard-monster that terrorizes people.  His debut film, for which he won an award, is called Five Marines (오인의 해병).  It is a war story, taking place during the Korean war.


Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to watch 김기덕's Barefooted Young.  The title of this movie is 맨발의 청춘 in Hangul, or 맨발의 青春 in Hanja.  It is a story of a young couple who are in love, but who cannot be together, as they are from different social classes.  The woman is from a well-to-do family, but the young man has had a rough life, so rough that he's had to turn to gangsterism to survive.  They meet accidentally, start seeing each other in secret, and fall in love.  But the young woman's family does not accept her relationship, and so she runs off with her beau.  They end up committing suicide.

I really enjoyed the movie, even though I thought that the couple's suicide was a rather extreme turn of events.  I thought that it realistically portrayed what life might have been like for some people in Korea in the 1960's, only about 10 years after the end of the Korean war.  In addition, it contained beautiful footage of Seoul, and I greatly appreciated the opportunity to see what Seoul looked like about 50 years ago.

Coming home after the movie, I was happy to have seen a Korean movie at the BIFF, something that I failed to do during the 2010 PIFF.  I was also intrigued by the images of Seoul that I had seen in the movie, and set out to find old pictures of Seoul on the internet.  Interestingly, I found a photo archive containing vintage pictures of Seoul, some taken as early as the beginning of the 1900's.  I also found a blog, written in Korean, containing photos of Seoul in the 1960's, including a few pictures of Seoul's central train station.  Seoul's old train station still exists, but does not appear to be used any more.  Finally, I found the blog of a retired American army chap, on which he posted pictures that he took while posted in Korea.  Of note on this latter blog are photos of slums formerly located in and around Seoul.  I imagine that after the war, many Koreans would have been very poor.  Thankfully, things have greatly improved since then.

New Busan Cinema Center - What Impact on the Economy of Nampo Dong?

The 2011 Busan International Film Festival also differs from the 2010 version of the festival in that this year, all film screenings are held in the Haeundae gu area of Busan.  Last year, many films were screened in Nampo dong in addition to Haeundae gu.

Haeundae gu (해운대구) is a neighbourhood located in the south-eastern part of Busan.  It is an area that is popular with tourists, because a large beach is located there.  It also appears to be one of the most modernized neighbourhoods of the city.  Nampo dong (남포동), on the other hand, is located in south-central Busan, and is one of the oldest areas of the city.  Nampo dong's most interesting feature is perhaps the Jagalchi market (자갈치 시장), a fresh seafood market located right on the Pacific coast.

There are three large cinemas in Nampo dong, the Cinus cinema, the Daeyoung cinema, and the CGV Nampo cinema.  Many films were screened at these venues during the 2010 PIFF.  This seems to have been the case during many of the previous PIFF's as well, as the area near these cinemas is known as "PIFF plaza".  The plaza is decorated with cinema-themed sculptures, and populated with street food vendors working behind food carts and under parasols bearing the acronym "PIFF".

PIFF plaza in Nampo dong.

PIFF parasols over street food carts, by PIFF plaza.

It seems that the PIFF has been an important yearly economic activity in Nampo dong for a number of years.  But, with the construction of the Busan Cinema Center, BIFF film screenings have been held exclusively in Haeundae gu this year, and may be held exclusively in Haeundae gu during future installments of the BIFF.  I therefore wonder if the construction of the Busan Cinema Center will have a long-term negative impact on the economy of Nampo dong.

제16회 부산국제영화제

It's the beginning of autumn in Busan again.  Therefore, the 2011 version of the Busan International Film Festival (부산국제영화제) is now in full swing!  And it's a pretty special year for the festival.

Official banner of the 16th Busan International Film Festival.

First of all, this is the first year that the festival is referred to using the acronym BIFF.  That's right, the festival's acronym has been changed to reflect the evolving consensus on the english pronunciation of the name of the city in which it is annually held.  In the english-speaking world, the Korean city of 부산 has been known for a long time as Pusan.  But over the last decade, it has been referred to more and more as Busan.  And so, the PIFF has become the BIFF.

But most importantly, this is the first year that the festival is held in the Busan Cinema Center (부산영화의전당), a special venue constructed especially to host the BIFF.  The Center is an IMPRESSIVE work of architecture, and that the city of Busan has invested in its construction attests to the importance of the BIFF in this city.  Located in Haeundae gu (해운대구), it is nestled in one of the most modernized areas of Busan.  It neighbours the Busan branch of Shinsegae (신네계백화점), the world's largest department store.  All future installments of the BIFF are to be hosted at the Center.  In addition, the Cinemathèque Busan (시네마테크부산), a public film archive currently located a few kilometers away on the Pacific coast, will be relocated here.

The side entrance of the Busan Cinema Center.

At the entrance of the Busan Cinema Center, there is a large overhanging roof, the purpose of which appears to be to shelter film stars from the weather as they exit their cars to make their entrance at the BIFF.  Since the 2011 BIFF has begun, the Busan Cinema Center's roof has been alight in a dazzling display of colour.  What a sight it is!

The entrance of the Busan Cinema Center.

A night view of the Busan Cinema Center.

A night view of the Busan Cinema Center.