International Film Festival opens in Gangneung

The first Gangneung International Film Festival will open on November 8. The Committee for the Gangneung International Film Festival unveiled its program and opening film at the press conference held on Wednesday at the Myeongdong Cine Library located in CGV theatre in Jung-gu, Seoul.

The festival, which will be held from Nov 8 to 14, was conceived under the perception that movies and literature involves a story. It will feature various films with “literature” as the main keyword.

It will air movies originated from the works of Choi In-ho, a leading Korean novelist of the 1970s and 80s. Around 20 of his works have been made into movies. Makers of the film such as director Bae Chang-ho of “Whale-hunting,” director Lee Jang-ho of “Home of the Stars,” actor Ahn Sung-ki of “Winter Wanderer” will join a panel discussion. Expended: Dylonisque, a section that shows Nobel Prize Winner and musician Bob Dylan’s life and art, will air “Masked and Anonymous,” written and played by Bob Dylan, and music documentary “Don’t Look Back.”

A special exhibition on “Hirokazu Kore-eda,” Japanese film director who won the Palme d’Or in 2018, will be held. The director will visit Gangneung to meet with audience and share stories of his life and philosophy for movies.

The Whale Book Store, a leading and well-loved local hotspot for hosting arts and cultural events, has planned events where visitors can watch films chosen by novelists in Gangwon Province as well as a fusion of film and literature events. Poet Chung Ho-seung will have an open discussion with director Lee Jong-eun of “Grandmother Poet,” a movie that topped the list of movies voted by novelists in Gangneung.

The opening film will be “A Little Princess” by director Heo In-moo, which will be released on Nov 27. The closing film will be “Don’t Look Back,” a music documentary of Bob Dylan’s life, made by D. A. Pennebaker.

“The Gangneung Film Festival will shed light on movies that originate from literature, living up to its reputation as the “Home for Literature,” and share to the world films made in various countries around the world,” said Kim Dong-ho, the head of the film festival committee.


Seo-Hyun Lee baltika7@donga.com