Film enthusiasts, rejoice! The Korean Film Festival is back in Brussels for a 10th edition full of surprises! From 29 September to 7 October, 18 classic and new films will be screened at BOZAR and the Cinéma Galeries. The festival will then move to the city of Luxembourg on 27 and 28 October at Ciné Utopia and the Cinémathèque de Luxembourg. For its tenth anniversary, the festival is organized around three sections: Korean Film Today, Music on Screen and 10 Years Legacy, offering a selection of films based on the 10th anniversary. The directors HONG Sung-eun (Aloners) and BYUN Gyu-ri (Coming to You) will attend the festival.
Korean culture has made a spectacular breakthrough in the last decade and has become a household name in popular culture, thanks to Oscar-winning films like Parasite, K-pop and intriguing series like Squid Game.
Korean Film Today
This section features films that have caught the attention of Korean audiences in this past year. After two years of pandemic life, the Korean film industry has finally made a comeback in May. Two films won awards at the Cannes Film Festival, and the new releases have attracted many audiences. This year’s focus is on films directed by women, like the thriller Anchor, the independent film Aloners,the documentary Coming to You and last but not least: Decision to Leave, directed by PARK Chan-wook, winner of the Best Director Award at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.
Special Focus: 10 Years Legacy
This section highlights films that the festival has never screened before. Among them, A Hard Day, directed by KIM Seong-hun, one of the directors of the hit Netflix series Kingdom, as well as several high-quality action films and thrillers, which are the pinnacle of Korean cinema. Finally, a must-see film for fans of family dramas: Another Child, which marks the directorial debut of renowned South Korean actor KIM Yoon-seok.
Special Focus: Music on Screen
Even those who only know about K-pop will find this section useful to learn more about Korean music and society. The two documentaries Song of the Poet and K-Classics Generation will give you a better understanding of the Korean society through its classical and folk music scene. Kokdu: A Story of Guardian Angels is a new creation that blurs the line between traditional Korean music and film.
“Every year, five or more Korean films make it into the top 10 of domestic films in Korea. Except for the United States, I think that is a rarity for a country. Given that the worldwide film market is almost exclusively dominated by Hollywood films, the success of Korean film can be described as an exceptional phenomenon in terms of cultural diversity. Film is a cultural product that provides us with a complete picture of the imagination, the technical skills, and the industrial system of a country. I am sure that the visitors of the festival will appreciate Korea’s status as a major producer of cultural content and entertainment. Thank you to all those who will participate in the 10th Korean Film Festival,” says KIM Jaehwan, Director of the Korean Cultural Centre in Belgium and the European Union.
2 cities, 4 venues
This 10th edition will take place at BOZAR and the Cinéma Galeries in Brussels from 29 September to 7 October. After that, screenings will take place at Ciné Utopia and the Cinémathèque of the city of Luxembourg.
Click here for more information on the festival and the program
