Seoul Report and False Rumours

[Mark Schilling]

Aaron asked for reports on Pusan. Here's one I wrote for Screen
International:

Pusan: Give Korean filmmakers credit -- the Japanese may have a bigger
market and the Hong Kong Chinese a higher international profile, but among
their Asian colleagues they are unrivaled in their determination to keep
their industry alive and thriving, by any means necessary. 
	The industry has struggled long and hard against what it considers
Hollywood's attempts to wipe it out of existence. A major part of that
struggle has been its fervent defense of the quota system, which requires
local exhibitors to set aside at least 106 days a year for Korean films.
The campaign by the Motion Picture Producers Association to end the quota,
as part of the talks over the Korea-US Bilateral Investment Treaty, has
inspired rallies, vigils, protests and a nationwide petition drive over the
past year. 
	Indications by the Korean government that it is willing to reform the
system as a means of moving negotiations forward have been denounced by
quota defenders, who stand firm against any compromise. At last month's
Pusan International Film Festival representatives of the Emergency
Committee to Protect the Screen Quota System issued a statement proclaiming
that "The Korean film industry cannot be a bargaining scapegoat" and
calling on the industry to halt all production on December 1 in protest."
"The US's persistence in trying to abolish the screen quota system in Korea
is a sad reminder that human values and decency have no relevance when
avarice rules," said the statement, which was signed by leading Korean film
directors, actors, producers and scholars. 
	But while manning the barricades and heaving verbal Molotov cocktails at
Jack Valenti, the industry has taken more positive steps to ensure its
survival in the next millennium. One is the Pusan International Film
Festival, which has emerged, in the four years of its existence, as the
most vibrant event of its kind in Asia. Whereas other Asian festivals,
including those in Hong Kong and Tokyo, have been beset by budgetary and
other problems, Pusan has forged ahead with the backing of the national and
city government and the local business community, as well as the enthusiasm
of local film fans. Attendance at this year's festival was 163,168, with 63
films enjoying sold-out screenings. 
	While presenting a wide spectrum of world and Asian cinema, the festival
has also served as an international showcase for Korean films. "Before
Korean producers didn't think much about the overseas market," said
festival programmer Lee Yong Kwan, "but with the Pusan Film Festival our
films are getting more international exposure -- it's made a big impact on
the industry." 
	At this year's edition, from October 14 to 23, the program included an
eleven-film Korean Panorama that presented not only arthouse fare, but
several commercial films, including two of the biggest Korean box office
hits of 1999 -- Nowhere to Hide and Phantom, The Submarine. The crowd of
foreign festival programmers and buyers present were taking notice, with
Nowhere to Hide, a stylish cop thriller with a Gene Hackman-like lead,
getting the biggest buzz. 
	Likewise raising the industry's profile was the second Pusan Promotion
Plan (PPP), a pre-market modeled on the Rotterdam Film Festival's CineMart.
At this year's PPP seventeen projects were on offer by Asian directors,
including such prominent names as Fruit Chan, Garin Nugroho, Murali Nair
and Makoto Shinozaki. Among the nearly 250 attendees were representatives
from Miramax, Fine Line, NHK, Pony Canyon and Sony PCL. Several directors
attracted co-production or post-production backing, one being Korean
filmmaker Kim Ki-Duk, who got a promise of co-financing from a German
producer for his project Unknown Address. 
	Also, Korean projects took three of the six prizes awarded at PPP. The
UniKorea Award, underwritten by UniKorea, a Korean financing firm, gave 10
million won ($8,333) to Kim Eug Soo for I'm a Taxi Driver In Paris. The
Hanul Award, backed by film financier HanWool Cine, presented10 million won
to Bae Changho for Africa My Love, while the KF-MAP prize, sponsored by
Sony PCL and the PIFF, granted special film processing services to Song IL
Gon's The Knife. 	
	As these awards indicate, much of the backing for Korean
films is now coming, not from the chaebol -- the conglomerates that were
among the hardest hit in Korea's economic crisis -- but small venture
capital companies that have arisen in large numbers over the past several
years. "A lot of the chaebol put money into films before the crisis, but
now most are pulling out," explained PPP coordinator Taesung Jeong. "But
venture companies have taken up the slack." As a result, production has
stabilized, with nearly 40 films going into production this year. "There
are fewer films being made now, but they're getting bigger and better,"
commented Taesung. 
	The best known exemplar of this trend is Shiri, the Kang Je-Gyu spy
thriller that beat Titanic at the Korean box office this year. And it is
not the only one to hit the jackpot --  13 Korean films released in 1999
have recorded 100,000 or more admissions, compared with an average of only
four or five in previous years. "Before filmmakers were looked down on --
now they are getting more respect," explained Taesung. "As a result more
talented young people are coming into the industry and they're making
better films." 
	Korean filmmakers are not only improving their product, but becoming more
knowledgeable about promoting and marketing it abroad. "Before Koreans
didn't know how to sell their films to foreign buyers," said Taesung. "Now
they putting them in film festivals and taking them to film markets in ever
greater numbers." One beneficiary of this new savvy is Spring in My
Hometown, a festival favorite that international sales agent Celluloid
Dreams has sold to Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and other territories in
Asia and around the world. "It's earned more than $1 million in overseas
box office," said Taejung. "That's extremely rare for a Korean film." 
	Another positive factor has been a radical shift in government policy,
from censorship and neglect in the 1980s, to liberalization and active
support in the 1990s. Exactly how active was recently made clear when
Korean government announced that it would pour 150 billion won ($125
million) into projects for promoting Korean cinema between 1999 and 2003,
under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. 
	One part of this plan involves constructing 100 theatres throughout Korea
specializing in Korean films. Another is to build 20 cinematheques that
will screen independent films from Korea and elsewhere. Still another is to
provide funds for studios, laboratories and other production and
post-production facilities in major Korean cities. "Realizing the basic
structure of this plan will require nearly 600 billion won ($500 million),
with much of the money coming from the government," said Lee. 
	Still another factor spurring the industry's revitalization is the
multiplex boom. Of the 700 screens in Korea, nearly 20 to 25 percent are
part of cinema complexes. Also, construction continues apace, with nearly
100 new multiplex screens scheduled to be built in Pusan alone. In the
Haeundae Beach area -- Pusan's Gold Coast -- a 30-screen megaplex is being
planned, while a 20-screen cineplex is set to go up near the Hotel Lotte. 
	Beside providing a pleasanter theatre-going experience, the multiplexes,
says Lee, are bringing a much needed transparency to the Korean exhibition
business. "A lot of theatres in this country under-report admissions,"
explains Lee. "But with the computerized ticket system of the multiplexes
that's no longer possible. Before foreign investors were reluctant to put
their money into Korean films because they had no way of telling how much
they were actually making. Now they can be more confident." 
	The forecast for the industry is not all blue skies and sunshine, however.
Many of the venture companies want to be in the media business, not the
movie business. "They're already heading in the direction of CD-ROMs and
game software and away from films," commented Lee. "If they were to pull
their money out, the film industry would face a crisis." 
	Also, though the Kim Dae-jung government is sympathetic to the industry,
the next politician to occupy the president's mansion may not be. And there
is no guarantee that Kim will deliver on his promises. "I'm a bit skeptical
about Kim's pronouncements -- he tends to exaggerate," said Lee. "That
doesn't mean I'm pessimistic -- as long as we keep making better films, the
future will be bright."    	

Mark Schilling (schill at gol.com)