Our friends at the Korean Film Festival in Australia (KOFFIA) have announced their full program for 2021! Just in time to celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations between Australia and South Korea, the 12th edition of KOFFIA returns to cinemas in Canberra (2-6 September), Brisbane (16-19 September), Melbourne (16-23 September) and Sydney (14-23 October).
Coming off the back of a historic high point for Korean cinema internationally, with Parasite and Minari dominating the awards categories for the last few years, the Festival program features 22 of the finest films from Korea’s world-class film industry.
Tickets to KOFFIA are on sale now at www.koffia.com.au
Drama
Lee Isaac Chung’s MINARI leads the pack. The award-winning story of one family’s experience after moving from Los Angeles to Arkansas to start a farm in the early 1980’s. We named it one of the Best Films of 2020 in our round-up in December.
Koh Hoon’s feature film PAPER FLOWER follows the life of an old mortician, his unwell son and the events that take place when a new family moves next door.
Coming straight from the Korean box office in early 2021, WAITING FOR THE RAIN is a romantic drama directed by Cho Jin-mo. It an epistolary film, based on a series of letters sent between lovers who have struggled to meet for years.
In WAY BACK HOME a woman (Woo-yun Han) receives a call from the police alerting her that they have arrested the man who raped her 10 years prior. Reluctant to tell her husband, her past is slowly revealed little by little, throwing married life off balance.
Lee Tae-Gyeom’s directorial debut I DON’T FIRE MYSELF is a sobering social drama that sees a woman take a subcontractor role rather than resigning from her job. The film follows her struggles to adjust to the new life.
KIDS ARE FINE is a fun-filled yet sentimental film following the adventure of three 9-year-old kids who set out on a daring journey to find one of their ailing mothers after she is transferred to a faraway hospital.
Other dramas in the Festival program include director KIM Hyun-tak’s compelling and emotional I, SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN which follows a young man who returns home without a hope for his future and finds hope and comfort; musical film SPRING SONG; and the romantic dramas DOUBLE PATTY, JOSÉE and SHADES OF THE HEART.
Family
As you can probably guess from the title, RED SHOES AND THE SEVEN DWARFS is a parody of Snow White and follows seven dwarfs, once seven princes, who can only break their curse by kissing the most beautiful woman in the kingdom. Way to perpetuate the beauty myth, ancient curses!
Action
If there’s one thing that South Korea has been awesome at over the last few years, then it’s large-scale action blockbusters. KOFFIA this year is no exception.
THE SWORDSMAN is an action film from Cho Jae-hoon. Set in the 17th-century during a time when ruling dynasties in Korea and China were in significant transition, it stars Jang Hyuk as the titular character.
We love a heist film, and PIPELINE seems set to fill that void for us. The film features six thieves who hope to change their lives planning an oil heist by drilling into Korea’s biggest pipeline. Oils well that ends well, we guess.
Comedy
A surprisingly funny, smart and deep story, MORE THAN A FAMILY follows university student To-il who gets pregnant while dating her 19-year-old tutoring student and embarks on a journey to find her biological father.
SAMJIN COMPANY ENGLISH CLASS is a classic David and Goliath story where three talented women who are trapped in roles as mere office assistants, eventually become key drivers against an unethical corporate scheme.
THE GOLDEN HOLIDAY follows a detective on (you guessed it) holiday with his family in the Philippines before becoming entangled in an investigation of a local murder case.
Thriller + Adventure
Suspenseful mystery thriller RECALLED is about a woman who wakes up one day and learns that she’s lost her memory and begins to experience hallucinations that she feels portend future murderous events. Her doting husband cares for her at home but things are not what they seem. It stars Seo Yea-ji, Kim Kang-woo and Yeom Hye-ran.
DELIVER US FROM EVIL is a frenzied hit-man thriller following an assassin who goes to Thailand to solve a kidnapping case, only to find himself being chased by a man whose sibling he killed.
COLLECTORS is another heist film that documents the journey where a team of grave robbers set out to claim an ancient king’s treasure buried in the royal tomb located in the heart of Seoul. With an elevator pitch of ‘Ocean’s Eleven meets Raiders of the Lost Ark,’ you know we’re going to sit up and pay attention. Park Jung-bae directs a cast led by Lee Je-hoon in this South Korean historical adventure/crime thriller. We’re in!
Documentary
Because you have to have at least one food documentary at an Australian festival! Park Hye-Ryoung’s THE WANDERING CHEF goes on a journey with Korean celebrity chef Im Jiho as he travels the Korean peninsula in search of the most authentic and unique ingredients with medicinal properties.
