HONG Sangsoo’s Films Set to Woo Japanese Cinephiles

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HONG Sangsoo’s Films Set to Woo Japanese Cinephiles

Nov 21, 2012

Writer by KIM Hyun-min
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IN ANOTHER COUNTRY to Open TOKYO FILMeX

In Another Country, directed by HONG Sangsoo, has been invited as the opening film of the 12th TOKYO FILMeX, which is scheduled to be held between November 23rd and December 2nd in Tokyo, Japan. He was previously invited to the festival in 2008 when he brought Night And Day to the 9th edition. As one of the two major Japanese film festivals, along with the Tokyo International Film Festival, TOKYO FILMeX has played a leading role in the growth of Asian cinema by introducing unique Asian films since its inception in 2000.

At the 2nd edition in 2001, SONG Il-gon received the Grand Prize for Flower Island (2001). The actor AHN Sung-ki was the foreman of the jury at the 3rd edition. KIM Ki-duk went there twice; once when one of his films Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter And Spring (2003) was invited as the opening film of the 4th edition and again when ARIRANG was invited as the opening film in 2011, for which he received the audience award.

PARK Jung-bum received the Special Jury award with The Journals of Musan, also in 2011. HONG will participate in the opening ceremony and conduct official interviews with the festival and general interviews with the press.

HONG has also been meeting Japanese cinephiles through a different path. A roadshow entitled ‘HONG Sangsoo / 4 Films for Contemplation about Love’ introduces HONG’s 4 films, Hahaha, Like You Know It All, Oki‘s Movie and The Day He Arrives. The roadshow started at Cinemart Shinjuku, Tokyo on November 18th. After 6 weeks in Tokyo, the roadshow will move to Osaka and continue for 3 weeks. Then it will progress to other cities including Nagoya, Kyoto and Fukuoka.

During the TOKYO FILMeX, the famous Japanese actor KASE Ryo is going to have a conversation with the audience following the screening of Oki’s Movie, according to a representative of FINECUT, the company in charge of the film's foreign distribution.

Bitters End, the Japanese distribution company hosting the roadshow, was established in 1994. Since then, the company has produced films by talented young directors like Nobuhiro YAMASHITA, Shinji AOYAMA and Makoto SHINOZAKI. Recently, they produced The Land of Hope, directed by SONO Sion. Is is well known as a company that has constantly distributed films from auteurs such as HONG Sangsoo, THE DARDENNE brothers, Otar IOSSELIANI, Danis TANOVIC and Phlippe GARREL. They also distributed Still Life directed by Jia ZHANGKE, and Mother and Tokyo! directed by BONG Jun-ho.

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