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The poster for Kim Gi-duk's new film, "Samaria."
Jan. 23, 2004: News from Abroad
Hyo-lee in Tsui Hark's Initial D, Singapore's upcoming Idol, Kim Gi-duk's controversial poster, Live Wire with Seo Taiji, and many more in this issue of News From Abroad
Poster for Kim Gi-duk's new film may provoke controversy
For the poster of his new film Samaria, Kim Gi-duk depicts a young woman posed topless wearing only a coif, the veil used by Catholic nuns. This poster is expected to cause a great deal of controversy. Not only that, the possible slogan for the film is "Aren't I too young for that…"
The woman in the poster is the leading actress of the film, 19-year-old Kwak Ji-min. She shot the poster when she was a senior in high school, still a minor, adding fuel to this fire of controversy. Kwak was originally concerned about posing for such a poster before her high school graduation in February, but opted to go ahead with it because she believed in its artistic quality. Out of consideration to the actress, the poster will not be released until after her graduation ceremony. The poster was shot in Seoul's Gangnam district last December by photographer Lee Jeon-ho, who also did the poster for the hit film Old Boy. An insider reported that the poster's provocative image was deliberate to match both the production style of the director, who is known for his shocking imagery and themes, and the mood of the film.
Samaria is about a young teenager (Kwak) who is prostituting herself to an older man, and the mental anguish that this causes her father, played by Lee Eol. The movie encompasses a wide variety of peculiar and extreme situations, such as the father's witnessing of his daughter engaging in improper sexual relations. The film is scheduled to open in March and has already been invited to the 2004 Berlin Film Festival in February.
Bangkok International Film Festival
The fifth annual 2004 Bangkok International Film Festival (BKKIFF) will be held from January 22 to February 2, with the opening ceremony taking place on January 17 at the Scala Cinema, Siam Square. With the theme of "From Masters to Present," this year's festival not only pays tribute to leading filmmakers of the 20th century but also embraces a new era of directors. The festival will showcase approximately 150 films from around the world. Twelve of these films will be competing for the Golden Kinnaree award in seven categories including Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Director. Acting as judges will be a panel of internationally renowned filmmakers.
Also included in the festival is a new program called the ASEAN Panorama which is a collection of the best Asean cinema of the year from 10 ASEAN countries (Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Indonesia and Malaysia). Judged by the FIPRESCI Jury, one of these films will take home the Golden Kinnaree award for "Best ASEAN Film."
The awards ceremony will take place on January 31 at the Royal Thai Navy Auditorium. This year's event will also pay tribute to Christopher Doyle for his work in cinematography by awarding him the Crystal Lens Awards. There will also be a special Golden Kinnaree Award for Lifetime Achievement to Thai director Ratana Pestonji.
The screenings of the films will be held at various venues throughout the country such as the Grand EGV or the SFX Emporium. For more detailed information, please visit www.bangkokfilm.org.
Hyo-lee to take role in Tsui Hark's Initial D
Korean pop star Lee Hyo-lee will be starring alongside Jay Chou and Edison Chen in Tsui Hark's upcoming film Initial D, based on the popular Japanese comic book of the same name. Chou will be taking on the role of Takumi Fujiwara, a delivery boy by day and a street racer extraordinaire by night. Chen will be playing the role of Takumi's rival, Ryosuke Takahashi. Lee will be playing the role of Takumi's love interest, Natsuki Mogi, a high school student who gets involved in wonjo kyoje, a sexual relationship between a female high school student and an older man that is based on money. The movie is scheduled to start filming in March of this year in Japan and Malaysia.
Initial D will be Lee's first movie role. She is slated to star in another movie with Jackie Chan, but the script is still in the works, and the title and director are uncertain at the moment. DPS Entertainment, the company representing Lee said that for more than one million U.S. dollars, Lee had agreed to collaborate with Hong Kong-based Emperor group to star in these two movies.
Lee was initially the leader of the female pop group Fin.K.L. (Fine Killing Liberty) but when the group disbanded, she went solo and released her first album, "Lee Hyo Lee Vol. 1" in the summer of 2003. In that short period of time, she has won numerous awards including four Daesang awards from the SBS Seoul Music Awards and the KMTV Korean Music Awards. She also won 3 Bonsang awards and the award for "Best Music Video" at the 2003 MNET Music Festival.
Singaporeans get a taste of poetry at Wordfeast
Combining fine dining and artistic poetry, Singapore's first literary festival, Wordfeast, was held from January 15 to 18 at various locations across the southeastern region of Singapore. The festival featured themed readings, special performances, discussions, workshops, and of course, wining and dining at bars, restaurants, and cafes.
Approximately 30 local and international writers showed up at the event, including Marjorie Evasco (Philippines), Goenawan Mohamad (Indonesia), Jam Ismail (Hong Kong), John Mateer (Australia), and Leonard Schwartz (USA).
Drawing inspiration from other festivals run by writers such as the Queensland Poetry Festival, the idea for Wordfeast came from Alvin Pang and Toh Hsien Min. Together they set up The Literary Centre, a non-profit organization aimed at promoting the literary arts in Singapore. The whole event was organized with a working budget of $30,000 funded primarily by the South East Community Development Council.
With the English literary scene in Singapore enjoying a heavy revival, the timing of Wordfeast seems appropriate. Last year alone, more than 15 new writers had their first books published. Many of these writers are also building their reputations at writers' festivals such as those held in Edinburg, Brisbane, Austin and Hong Kong.
DreamWorks partners with Hong Kong Studio for Father of the Pride
DreamWorks announced that it will be collaborating with Hong Kong-based studio Imagi IP Holdings for the upcoming movie, Father of the Pride, a comedy about a pride of white lions that performs in Las Vegas. The movie will be airing on prime time television and the U.S. comedian John Goodman will be one of the many people voicing a character for the film.
Impressed by their previous work, DreamWorks decided to offer Imagi a contract which included cartoon series "Zentrix" that was shown in France and Japan. For the project, the studio will be in charge of computer-generated animation services, including modeling, character animation, lighting effects, compositing and rendering. The project is expected to take between 12 to 18 months.
Working with DreamWorks will be a great accomplishment for Imagi, which set up its animation operation only three years ago with an initial staff of 10 people. Now the studio has grown to160 staff members, many of whom will be working on the Hollywood project. Imagi is also set to work on mainland China projects under the CEPA (Closer Economic Partnership Agreement) but its present operation will remain in Hong Kong with its animation series targeted at international audiences, according to Terry Tse, development director of IMI Global Holdings, parent company of Imagi.
First Singaporean violinist to perform at South Korean art hall
Violinist Kam Ning was the first Singaporean to perform at the prestigious South Korea Hoam's Art Hall on January 12. Other celebrated musicians who have performed at the art hall include Vladmir Ashkenazy, Midori, Isaac Stern, Sarah Chang and Maxim Vengerov.
This year's concert series included only four musicians. Ning played the opening performance with her interpretation of Schubert's "Rondo", Beethoven's "Sonata Op. 96", and Messian's "Praise to the Immortality of Jesus". She was also accompanied by acclaimed British pianist Carole Presland for Coriliano's "Sonata for Piano and Violin. "
Taught by her violinist/composer father Kam Kee Yong, Ning began taking lessons at age six. In 1987, she attended the Yehudi Menuhin School, where she continued her lessons and took classes taught by Menuhin himself. While she was there, she played at the Royal Festival Hall with the Wren Orchestra of London and appeared in "Blue Peter," a popular British television program. Since then, she has performed with many orchestras including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Toronto Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Buffalo Harmonic. She received her Masters of Music Degree and an Artist Diploma from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2001.
Ning has given performances throughout the world including England, Canada, Switzerland and the United States. She has received many awards, including first prize in the junior section of the Folkestone Menuhin International Violin Competition in 1991 and second prize at the Prix du Gouvernement Federale Belge Eugene Yaaye at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium of 2001.
Seo-Taiji's Upcoming "Live Wire" Concert
Seo-Taiji is making a comeback with the "Live Wire" concert to be held in Korea from January 29t to Februrary 1 at the Olympic Gymnasium. He will be performing alongside the U.S. heavy metal band Korn, and Static-X will be the opening act. For the later dates, Seo-Taiji will be on stage with Korean groups Nell and Pia.
Seo-Taiji met Korn in the studio when he went to the states to remake his sixth album. Already planning a concert in Korea for January, Korn accepted Seo Taiji's proposal to hold a joint concert. Ulrich Wild, producer of Static-X, participated in the remaking of Seo Taiji's sixth album and consequently the nu-metal band was added to the line up. The concert will most likely showcase new material.
Seo-Taiji is a legendary figure in Korea's music industry, credited with single-handedly creating today's gayo world with his musical experimentation based on American pop and rap. He was originally part of the group Seo-Taiji and Boys with members Lee Juno and Yang Hyun Suk. They debuted in 1992 with a new music style that revolutionized the industry of popular Korean music. When the group disbanded after producing four albums, Seo-Taiji went solo while the other members each produced their own singing groups with Lee producing Young Turks Club, and Yang producing Jinusean. These two groups are also now very popular in their home country.
Singaporeans find their own "Idol"
Mediacorp TV Channel 5 announced that it had acquired the exclusive rights to produce and telecast a local version of the popular American talent show American Idol. This will make Singapore the first country in Asia to acquire rights to this format, although other countries such as the UK, Canada, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Pan Arabic Region, and Australia have already utilized the format.
Details on the hosts, judges, and audition dates will be released in coming months, but the series will debut in the second half of 2004.
American Idol has been a popular show in Singapore, with close to 1 million viewers tuning into the second season finale last May when Reuben Studdard beat out Clay Aiken. But just because Singapore will be having it's own "Idol" doesn't mean that locals can't tune in to American Idol. Channel 5 will be airing the same-day telecasts of the much awaited third season of American Idol this month.
Date Posted: 1/23/2004