First "Japanese" Film in Korea Announced

[Mark Schilling]

From: Mark Schilling <schill at gol.com>
> To: KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
> Subject: First "Japanese" Film in Korea Announced
> Date: Friday, October 30, 1998 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but a film by a Korean director, shot in Korea,
would have qualfied as "Korean" before the lifting of the ban, even if some
of the cast and money came from Japan. A film shot by a Japanese director
with Korean locations and actors would not have qualified, however. One
example was Seijiro Koyama's "Mitabi no Kaikyo," a 1995 film about wartime
Korean slave laborers with Pusan locations  whose producers hoped would get
the nod for a Korean release -- but to no avail.

The first purely Japanese film to be released in Korea will be "Hana-Bi"
according to information I have received from the Korean distributor, Hana
Media. FYO the following is the story about the release I wrote recently
for Screen International:

Tokyo: Takeshi Kitano's 1997 Venice Golden Lion winner Hana-Bi will be the
first Japanese film to be commercially released in South Korea since the
end of World War II. Imports of Japanese films, as well as music and comic
books, had been forbidden by the Korean government until Culture and
Tourism minister Shin Na Kyun officially announced the lifting of the ban
on October 20. 
	Korean distributor Hana Media submitted the film to the Korean censorship
board for approval immediately following the government's announcement.
Following the censorship and rating process, which is expected to take
about six weeks, Hana-Bi will tentatively open in Korea in mid-December,
though the exact data has not yet been decided. 
	The Korean government plans admits Japanese films into the country by
stages, beginning with best picture and best director award winners at the
Cannes, Venice and Berlin festival and the Academy Awards. Of the 15 films
that qualify Hana-Bi has been judged to have the most commercial potential.

	Hana-Bi was a major arthouse hit in Japan, recording 500,000 admissions
and grossing Y600 million ($5 million). Kitano is currently working on his
as-yet-untitled eighth film, which set for release in Japan next summer. 
	Hana Media is leading distributor of independent films in Korea, whose
slate for 1999 includes Run Lola Run, School of Flesh. Lost Paradise and
Kitano's Kids Return. 

Mark Schilling	   
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