Korean film festival opens in Egypt

Visual Korea 2017 is held in Egypt in May.

By Korea.net Honorary Reporters Salwa Elzeny, Esraa Elzeny, Dina Khaled and Sara Khaled

Photos = Esraa Elzeny and Salwa Elzeny 

Everywhere in the world, cinemas are where people go to enjoy themselves. Cinema tells our stories and our lives, and as our lives vary, the stories of cinema can vary, too. Korean cinema suffered in the 1970s because of bureaucracy, censorship and the spread of television, but it made its way in the early 1990s with the emergence of a generation of talented young directors. During the 21st century, the film industry in Korea has undergone great development. Korean films have begun to be shown at international festivals, most notably Cannes, Berlin and Venice. The driving force behind the boom was government policies to promote movies and filmmaking. According to the strict quota system for first-run screens, each movie screen should display a Korean film for at least 73 days each year. Directors also receive support from the Korean Film Board, regional film commissions, local governments and international film festivals. In 2015, the number of films produced in Korea reached 232, compared with 57 films in 2000, while the number of theaters increased to 2,424 in all parts of the country, compared to 720 in 2000. According to the latest statistics, an average Korean moviegoer sees 4.22 movies per year in the cinema.

As part of the Korean government's keenness to promote Korean cinema and as a response to the passion of Egyptian fans for all things Korean, we are delighted to help organize this year's Korean Cinema Festival in cooperation with the Cultural Development Fund and the Cultural Palaces Authority.

"I hope that these cultural activities organized by the Korean Cultural Center in Egypt will strengthen the friendly relations and cooperation that exists between Seoul and Cairo across various fields, and promote understanding between our two friendly societies. I hope that the films will get your admiration and applause. Thank you very much."

Thus, Park Jae Yang, the media and cultural counselor at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Egypt and director of the Korean Cultural Center in Egypt, opened the Korean Cinema Festival, under the theme of "Visual Korea," at the Egyptian Opera House on May 17.

The Cairo Opera House is the main performing arts venue in Cairo. 

The Korean Cinema Festival was held at the Cairo Opera House, part of the National Cultural Center and the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. The Korean Cinema Festival was held from May 14 to 17 and screened four popular Korean movies: "The Thieves" (도둑들) (2012), "No Breathing" (노 브레싱) (2013), "The Plan Man" (플랜맨) (2014) and "Welcome to Dongmakgol" (웰컴 투 동막골) (2005).

"The Thieves" was the first movie to be shown at the Korean Cinema Festival, on May 14. The movie was produced in 2012. It's a Korean heist film directed by Choi Dong-hoon and stars Kim Yoon-seok, Lee Jung-jae, Kim Hye-soo, Jun Ji-hyun and Kim Soo-hyun. With over 12.9 million ticket sales, this action-comedy is currently the fifth highest-grossing movie in Korean film history. The movie was filmed in Seoul, Busan, Macau and Hong Kong. "The Thieves" recorded the fifth highest single day opening of all time in Korea.  I think it's one of the most successful Korean film of all time.

The story was unpredictable and you can’t figure out what will happen next. It totally throws off the audience, including a lot of situations that teach us that things aren't always what they seem. That’s the effect of a perfect storyline that provides plenty of twists, turns and flashbacks as the story progresses. All in all, "The Thieves" is highly entertaining thanks to its mix of comedy, complex plot, excellent performances and, of course, the action scenes.

  

Brochures for the Korean Cinema Festival tell the audience about the event. 

Korean Ambassador in Egypt Yoon Soon-gu and Park Jae Yang, the media and cultural counselor, both attended the opening ceremony and watched with us the opening movie. They gave welcoming speeches for the people who came to the event. A lot of people showed an interest in this event. They were very glad to know that there will be a Korean movie festival in Egypt. They wrote a lot of good comments on the official Facebook profile of the Korean Cultural Center in Egypt. Moreover, on the first day of the festival, many people of various ages  attended the screenings. There were even some families that came together to enjoy the movies. As they all watched the movies, the audience interaction was really amazing. The audience was really absorbed in the movie and it was both laughing and clapping at various parts in the movie.

Posters for the four movies are on display at the film festival. 

After the screening of the movie "The Plan Man," a seminar was held attended by Egyptian cinematic critic Nader Adly, director Ashraf Al-Fayeq, and cinematic critic Andrew Mohsen, as well as the Korean cultural counselor. They discussed the role that Korean cinema and film has played in the dissemination of Korean soft power. They talked about how Korean movies have sprung up and spread around the world, and talked about the idea of  joint exchanges between the Egyptian and Korean companies in the field of filmmaking and directing. Some of the attendees commented on their desire to translate the films into Arabic, to make it easier for them to understand Korean films better. 

Egyptian director Ashraf Al-Fayeq (right), cinematic critic Nader Adly (second from right), the Korean cultural counselor, and cinematic critic Andrew Mohsen (left) talk with the audience. 

Some of the people asked the Korean cultural counselor to invite famous K-pop stars to Egypt and to hold concerts at the Egyptian Opera House or at the Pyramids Theater. They also asked that more Korean soap operas be broadcast, and asked that they be aired with Arabic subtitles, rather than being dubbed. They believe that dubbing kills the sense of "spirit" in the Korean soap operas.

On the flip side, they believe that subtitles help them to learn and understand the Korean language. Finally, the audience agreed that it would want to hold this festival each year and have more films every year. 

The Egyptian audience enjoy the Korean movies and the seminar afterward. 

Finally, the Korean Cinema Festival is not only held in the Egyptian capital. It also visited the historic city of Luxor from May 17 to 19 at the Luxor Culture Center. 

Hope to see you all next year. 

  

wisdom117@korea.kr

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