[Festival] The Samsung Korea Film Fest Begins (Florence March 31 to April 10)

The Samsung Korea Film Fest Begins

Florence March 31 to April 10 the fourth edition of the South Korean Cinematography festival in Italy


Florence - Return to the Korea Film Fest, the traditional spring appointment with South Korean cinematography, coming together this year for it's fourth edition. The Festival, strengthened by renewed collaboration with Samsung Electronics Italia, will assume, for the 2006 edition, the name 'Samsung Korea Film Fest' (www.koreafilmfest.com http://www.koreafilmfest.com ). The Festival - organized by artistic director Riccardo Gelli, president of the association "Taegukgi" - Exchange of Tuscan and Korean Cultures, in collaboration with Stensen Cinema - will take place in Florence from march 31 to april 10 in three halls: Auditorium Stensen (march 31-april 6), Alfieri Atelier (april 6-9), Cineteca di Firenze (april 10). Among the main viewings and contemporary classics, the festival, the only of it's type in all of Italy, will offer another 20 films, 30 short films, a span of target South Korean cultural proposals and 3 retrospectives from the principle teachers of Korean Cinematography, Park Chan-wook, Kim Jee-woon and Song Il-gon. Kim Jee-woon and Song Il-gon will be present at the festival.

In one of the not-to-be-missed retrospectives, there will be a film proposal about the "cursed" director Park Chan-wook - of the uncertain and dark films that began his career, from "The Moon Is... the Sun's Dream" (1992) and "Trio" (1997) to the surprising political mystery "JSA - Joint Security Area", a success that became at once one of the classics of contemporary production. The retrospective will also discuss the great success of the extreme Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, the film that profoundly divided the Korean public but became a cult classic presented in numerous international festivals. It is the first chapter in a seductive trilogy about vendetta, full of unexpected surprises, called "Oldboy", that in 2004 won the Gran Premio della Giuria (Grand Prize of the Jury) at the Festival di Cannes, and for Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, from the concourse at the 62nd Mostra del Cinema di Venezia.

The retrospective for Kim Jee-woon will start from the debùts of 1998 with the black commedy "The Quiet Family" and, through her second full-length film, "The Foul King", and the film Coming Out, will propose the celebrated collective horror project Three, for which Kim Jee-woon created the episode Memories. Don't miss the two films that were affirmed in the international panorama: "A Tale of Two Sisters"s and the noir "A Bittersweet Life", outdoor concourse at the 58th Festival di Cannes.

Also rich and detailed is the retrospective for Song Il-gon, which will relate the journey from the first short films composed during his studies at the national school of Polish cinema in Lodz (The dream of the clowns and Liver and Potato), and end at the short film that won the Gran Premio della Giuria (Grand Prize of the Jury) at the 52nd Festival di Cannes, The Picnic. Among the other titles are the fascinating debùts of the full-length film, "Flower Island" (2001), and "Spider Forest" or "Feathers in the Wind" (2004).

The Festival will also offer films by other Korean directors such as "The President's Last Bang" by Im Sang-soo, "My Mother, the Mermaid" by Park Heung-sik, "She's on Duty" by Park Gwang-choon, "The Scarlet Letter" by Daniel H. Byun and "Innocent Steps" by Park Young-hoon.

Cinema is not all that is offered at the Samsung Korea Film Fest. In fact, through exhibitions, discussions and folklore, the festival aspires to also be an occasion where one can be emersed in the seductive Korean universe, in it's fascinating stories and in it's culture. Further developing the exposition is the work of photographic artist Kim Gyoo-sik with an evocative display of the Palagio di Parte Guelfa, an homage, in the exposition space of the 'Auditorium Stensen', and also Nam-jun Paik, the great Korean artist who passed away on January 29 this year. Universally considered to be the father of video art, Park had conducted


15 years worth of research in his field of study - the exploration of the artistic potential of new instruments of technology. The strength of his artistic research was characterized by his capacity to fuse western culture and oriental zen, aesthetic pop and avante-guard expression. In other words, his profound understanding of the new technological society - and his expression of the "information superhighway" - transformed the prototype of the artist in the electronic era, influencing entire generations of media artists. The exhibition is organized by Istituto Stensen in collaboration with Museo Leonardiano di Vince and l'Associazione Arte Continua (Association for Art Continuation).

Also part of the consolidate partnership with Samsung Electronics Italia, the Festival is made possibile by the collaboration of Korean Air, Consiglio Regionale della Toscana, Assessorati alle Relazioni Internazionali and by the Cultura del Comune di Firenze, Assessorato alla Cultura della Provincia di Firenze, KOFIC-Korean Film Council, Ambasciata d'Italia a Seoul and Centro di cultura italiano di Seoul.




Cinema Auditorium Stensen:
Viale Don Minzoni 25/c - Firenze

Friday 31 Marzo 2006
9:00 pm Inauguration
"The President's Last Bang" by Im Sang-soo (2005, 104min)
The inauguration is by invitation


Saturday 1 April 2006

3:30 pm "My Mother, the Mermaid"
by Park Heung-sik (2004, 110min) - First national showing

5:30 pm "The Foul King"
by Kim Jee-woon (1999, 112min) - First national showing

7:30 pm "The judgement"
by Park Chan-wook (1999, 26min) - First national showing

8:30 pm "Spider Forest"
by Song Il-gon (2004, 118min) - First national showing

10:40 pm "JSA - Joint Security Area"
by Park Chan-wook (2000, 110min)


Sunday 2 April 2006

3:30 pm "Feathers in the Wind"
by Song Il-gon (2004, 80min)

5:30 pm The Moon is the Sun's Dream
by Park Chan-wook (1992, 103min) - First national showing

7:30 pm "Coming out"
by Kim Jee-woon (2000, 45min) - First national showing

8:30 pm "The Quiet Family"
by Kim Jee-woon (1998, 103min) - First national showing

10:40 pm "Three, Monster"
by Fruit Chan, Park Chan-wook, Miike Takashi (2004, 125min) - First national showing


Monday 3 April 2006

5:30 pm "The Scarlet Letter"
by Daniel H. Byun (2004, 115min) - First national showing

7:30 pm "Picnic - 1999"
by Song Il-gon (1999, 18min) - First national showing
"The dream of the clown"
By Song Il-gon (1996, 8min) - First national showing

8:30 pm "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance"
by Park Chan-wook (2002, 121min) - First national showing

10:40 pm "Trio"
by Park Chan-wook (1997, 102min) - First national showing


Tuesday 4 April 2006

5:30 pm "Flower Island"
by Song Il-gon (2001, 119min)

7:30 pm "Liver and potato"
by Song Il-gon (1998, 20min) - First national showing
"Flush" by Song Il-gon (2000, 1min) - First national showing

8:30 pm "Oldboy"
by Park Chan-wook (2003, 119min)

10:40 pm "The Scarlet Letter" - replica
by Daniel H. Byun (2004, 115min)


Wednesday 5 April 2006
5:30 pm "She's on Duty"
by Park Gwang-choon (2005, 111min) - First national showing

7:30 pm Memories
by Kim Jee-woon (2002, 39min)

8:30 pm S"ympathy for Lady Vengeance"
by Park Chan-wook (2005, 112min)

10:40 pm "If You were Me - 2003"
by Park Chan-wook (2003, 110min) - First national showing


Thursday 6 April 2006

5:30 pm "JSA - Joint Security Area" - replica
by Park Chan-wook (2000, 110min)

8:30 pm "A Bittersweet Life"
by Kim Jee-woon (2005, 120min)

10:40 pm "A Tale of Two Sisters"
by Kim Jee-woon (2003, 115min)


Cinema Alfieri Atelier:
Via dell'Ulivo 8 - Firenze

Friday 7 April 2006
5:30 pm - "Flower Island" – replica
by Song Il-gon (2001, 119min)

8:30 pm - "Magician(s)" ("The Magicians")
by Song Il-gon (2005, 92min) - First national showing

10:40 pm - "A Bittersweet Life" – replica
by Kim Jee-woon (2005, 120min)


Saturday 8 April 2006
5:30 pm "Innocent Steps"
by Park Young-hoon (2005, 110min)

8:30 pm "Trio" - replica
by Park Chan-wook (1997, 102min) First national showing

10:40 pm "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" - replica
by Park Chan-wook (2002, 121min)


Sunday 9 April 2006

3:30 pm "The President's Last Bang" - replica
by Im Sang-soo (2005, 104min)

5:30 pm "Spider Forest" - replica
by Song Il-gon (2004, 118min) - First national showing

8:30 pm "Oldboy" - replica
by Park Chan-wook (2003, 119min)


Cineteca di Firenze - Cinema Castello:
Via Reginaldo Giuliani 374 - Firenze

Monday 10 April 2006

6:00 pm If You were Me - replica
by Park Chan-wook (2003, 110min) - First national showing

8:00 pm "Flower Island" - replica
by Song Il-gon (2001, 119min)

9:45 pm "Three, Monster" - replica
by Fruit Chan, Park Chan-wook, Miike Takashi (2004, 125min) - First national showing

The translation is offered by Jacqueline Gerringer

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