Paris-Korean Film Festival attracts 13,000 French audiences

A long line stretched in front of the Publicis Cinémas located right next to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday (local time). More than 70 percent of people standing in the queue were French, who were waiting for the closing ceremony of Festival du Film Coréen à Paris (FFCP) or Paris-Korean Film Festival, which marked its 11th anniversary this year.

A total of 54 Korean films were screened since its opening on Oct. 25, the festival attracted around 13,000 audiences; an outstanding increase compared to 529 in its first opening in 2006. An official of Publicis Cinema said that the Paris-Korean Film Festival is already attracting more people than Champs Elysees Film Festival, which mostly screens American films every year. What's more, "Festival Pass, which costs at 33 euros for entire access to all films during the festival, has already sold out.

Commissioner Bae Yong-jae of the Paris-Korean Film Festival cited the increasing number of annual visitors as "preparing the festival by leveling with local French." It is the French local programmers who select films to be introduced during the festival, carefully choosing by watching hundreds of Korean films throughout the year. "We exclude films shot by Korean directors such as Park Chan-wook, Hong Sang-soo, Kim Ki-deok, and Ihm Gwon-taek who are already widely known in France," Bae said. "Just like other film festivals, we also aim to discover movies directed by novel and talented directors who will also resonate with French audiences."

Among the 12 movies, which already sold the entire tickets, not only Korean blockbusters "Tunnel" and "The Age of Shadows" made it to the entry, but also "Dongju - The Portrait of a Poet" and documentary "Reach for the SKY" also gained high interest.

All-French panelists also give awards for short-films during the festival. This year's best short-film award went to "Bargain" directed by Lee Choong-hyun. The audience award was won by Lee Kyung-mi who directed "The Truth Beneath."

"It was nearly impossible to attract sponsors at the initial stage, but the festival now became popular that there are even sponsors who funded 10,000 euros with no strings attached," the festival commissioner said. "The festival positioned as a cultural event in Paris, with over 20:1 competition for volunteering."

Jung-Min Dong ditto@donga.com