The Korean Film Festival in Australia is back to celebrate its eleventh year.
Running from 29 October to 5 November, the Korean Cultural Centre event will be held online due to an unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.
Sojeong Park, director of the centre in Australia said: "The whole program for 2020 will be free to anyone anywhere in Australia. It is our show of thanks for your continued love and support for Korean cinema.”
“Also, seven films will be available to stream for free on SBS On Demand and this will be a good opportunity for Korean movie fans in Australia.”
KOFFIA Artistic Director, David Park, said: “From spellbinding mysteries to award-winning dramas, fascinating true stories and surrealist comedy – this year’s program provides a multi-faceted glimpse into the vibrant world of Korean cinema.”
“After a historic decade for Korean cinema on the world stage, we’re thrilled to bring the festival to national audiences for the very first time in 2020,” Park added.
In addition to this year’s free digital program, the partnering with SBS On Demand will see the curation of seven feature films showcasing beloved past offerings from the festival.
Starting with Train to Busan on 1 November, you can watch Bong Joon-ho's film Mother.
Other features available in On Demand include Believer, starring Ryu Jun-yeol, Jeon Byung-gil's The Villainess, Hyun Bin in Joseon-era zombie flick Rampant, Great Battle starring Cho In-sung, and EXO's D.O in North Korea-set tap-dance drama Swing Kids.
Apart from that, the opening film of the online film festival highlights director Yun-tae Choi's full-length debut film Baseball Girl, which tells the story of a genius baseball player's journey.
Source: Next Entertainment World
The closing film My House directed by Yoon Ga-eun, the winner of the Blue Dragon Film Award's Rookie Director Award, was highly praised by Bong Joon-ho as "a master who makes child actors show their abilities on the screen".
Other films include Forbidden Dream starring Choi Min-shik, Fukuoka starring Park So-dam of the movie Parasite, and Kim Ji-young Born 1982 which was included in the screening to commemorate the publication of the English novel in Australia earlier this year.
The film festival is expected to reach a wider audience this year as it had previously only been held in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane.
