Interview: "Hooked" with Stuart Howe

Today we have a great interview which a film-maker that those of you in Australia should take note of. The reason being is that Stuart Howe was able to capture a true Korean story on film, and yet he is not Korean.  We are currently running our annual KOFFIA Short Film Comp, which offers up to $6,000 worth of cash and prizes, so Aussie based filmmakers should take note of Stuart's answers to help you make a little masterpiece that takes the top prize! 

Stuart Howe's great drama "Hooked" screened at Cinema on the Park on May 9th. It's an award winning film that has screened at many film festivals worldwide and we are delighted to have its Australian premiere. Read below for Stuart's follow up interview!

Interview: "Allegro" with Joo Yooncheol

Today we have a special interview with Joo Yooncheol, director of the animated short 'ALLEGRO'. This energetic short film is a must see if you get the chance!

The film was recently screened with Gangster-fish film 'Padak' / 파닥파닥 on Thursday 2nd May. 'ALLEGRO' is an animated short about a courier who makes his deliveries by running on foot. But after having an accident he is forced to make deliveries with a car, that is until he comes across an ambulance carrying vital blood packs that is stuck in traffic.

GI Joe: Retaliation’s Australian Premiere with Lee Byunghun

As the Autumn chill took hold, Sydney had a special treat with some hot stars flying down for the Australian premiere of “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” at George Street, Event Cinemas. This famous venue will be the location for this years Sydney leg of the Korean Film Festival, KOFFIA and was a buzz with the red carpet laid out for GI Joe. Among the cast in attendance was Korea’s very own Lee Byunghun, who reprised his role as Storm Shadow from “G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra”. 

We managed to catch up with Lee Byunghun, and he tells us that he was honoured to be able to play Storm Shadow again, and thankful that his character survived the 1st film! Check it out below. 

Lee Byunghun says hello to his Aussie fans!

Interview: "My Cinematic Separation" with Park Seung-min

As part of our indie cinema month at Cinema on the Park this April, we will be showcasing 3 features and 3 shorts. We will have interviews with the filmmakers here on the KOFFIA blog so keep checking for more great content. 

First up is an interview with Park Seung-min, director of the delightful short MY CINEMATIC SEPARATION. A funny, heartfelt love story of how one overcomes a lost love. Read on below!

My Cinematic Separation, April 4th at Cinema on the Park in Sydney

1. How did you get into the film industry / Why did you get in to filmmaking?

미술을 공부하던 고등학교 시절, 우연히 쿠엔틴 타란티노 감독의 <킬빌> 예고편을 보게 되었습니다. 그리고 그 예고편 하나에 매료되어 친구들을 모아 조그만 영화를 찍기 시작했습니다. 이 일이 계기가 되어 대학에서 디자인을 전공하면서도 연극이나 영화 쪽에 일을 하며 4개의 단편영화를 찍었죠. 영화를 찍는다는 것은 매우 힘들고 어렵지만 그 못지않게 즐겁고 행복한 일입니다. 매우 중독성이 강하죠. 제가 영화를 하는 이유는 영화에 중독되었기 때문입니다. 

When I was a high school student studying art, I coincidently watched the trailer of "Kill Bill" by Quentin Tarantino. I was interested in it and I gathered my friends. Then, I made a short film with them together. I also produced 4 short films studying a play and movie majoring in design in the university at the same time. It is very difficult to do filmmaking but it is delightful and addictive. That is the reason why I am a filmmaker. 

Review: Nowhere to Hide / 인정사정 볼 것 없다 (1999)

'Nowhere to Hide' recently screened at the Korean Cultural Office's weekly film night program Cinema on the Park, with special guest introduction by Russell Edwards (SBS Film). Read on below to check out film blogger Paul Bramhall's thoughts on the film. Feel free to comment below on your views on the film.

‘Nowhere to Hide’ has a unique place in my own personal history of becoming a Korean movie fan. While it was ‘Sympathy for Mr Vengeance / 복수는 나의 것’ which secured my love for the industry in 2002, I actually viewed ‘Nowhere to Hide’ a whole year earlier back when it was released on DVD in the UK. At that point in time I was still very much the definitive Hong Kong action movie fan, and the Western world as a whole had become familiar with Asian film-making in a way that it never had before. Suddenly people knew Yuen Woo Ping’s name thanks to his action choreography on ‘The Matrix’, and John Woo had also become a household name through the recently released ‘Mission: Impossible II’.

This familiarity also had a downside though. The result was that virtually any movie which starred at least one Asian actor, and featured even a few seconds of someone holding a gun, would be ridiculously marketed along the lines of – “The next John Woo is here!”, “(Insert generic Hollywood movie title here) Meets ‘The Matrix’!” – and other such nonsense. ‘Nowhere to Hide’ was a victim to this upon its UK DVD release (the first Korean movie to get a UK DVD release no less), I still have the box with “A Sure-Fire Hit with Fans of ‘Hard Boiled’” plastered across the top, and “Is Hollywood Ready for the Next John Woo?” across the bottom. So it was I popped it into the DVD player with the expectation of an epic bullet fest with hardly a moments breath to reload, what I got of course, was something distinctly different.

Russell Edwards introducing Nowhere to Hide at Cinema on the Park