It is a great honor to be able to show KAFA’s films at the Ca’ Foscari Short Film Festival 2013.
The Korean Academy of Film Arts was founded in 1984 in affiliation with the Korean Film Council, It is now the national film school which every year offers 24 selected students the possibility to study filmmaking and its related issues. Among the many students which KAFA can be proud of, film directors, DPs (Directors of photography) and producers of the Korean film industry, such as Bong Junho and Choi Donghoon who have realize films classified as 1st and 2nd box office hit movies, Im Sangsoo eith his A Taste of Money, and Jo Youngjik, director of photography for Pieta. Among the top 10 box office movies of 2012, 4 films were made by directors from KAFA.
KAFA is a film school which gives its students a tough time.
We believe filmmaking is about touching the bottom and then rising again; we try to offer each students a true life experience during his or her KAFA years. Every week, all students and faculty members get together and discuss about the films they plan to make. KAFA truly respects individuality to a point that the faculty members induce the creators to convey their character and personal goals to the project. We believe that in the next five years this kind of film education will become the focal point in the Korean cinema. Each yaer KAFA makes 3 feature films and 1 animated feature film, which are usually presented at high-level film festivals or widely distributed.
I wish I could show our feature films. However, I will here present the latest 4 shorts realized with the KAFA method, which I think entail the creator’s individuality in their subject and style. I hope this special screening may be an opportunity for an improved cultural exchange between Italy and Korea.
Equan Choe, Director of KAFA
FILMS DESCRIPTION:
FOREST
Written and directed by: Tae-hwa UM
Producer: Ji-hyun KANG
Cinematographer: Sang-bin JI
Korea/2012/32’19”
My friend falls into danger as a result of my insignificant action. I want to believe that it wasn’t intentional.
Orchard: Gu-jung, Tae-shik and Esther are neighborhood childhood friends. The three of them meet after a long time and go on a picnic to an orchard. They start to play Truth or Dare and try to learn each other’s hidden secrets. A subtle emotional conflict is experienced among them during this time.
Forest: Gu-jung and Tae-shik go deep into the mountain to shoot a movie. Tae-shik directs and acts out a scene where a man commits suicide. But due to an accident, he actually gets hung from a tree by his neck. Gu-jung quickly tries to lift Tae-shik up, but Tae-shik loses consciousness. The deep forest gets darker and darker and no one is in sight. Gu-jung slowly loses strength in his hands.
SHADOW MONSTER
Written and directed by: Hye-mi PARK
Producer Ji-hyun KANG
Korea/2012/9’36”
We have all once experienced a strange fear of the dark when we were little.
A boy and shadow thief meet.
One day a shadow monster enters the home of a boy who is afraid of the dark. The shadow monster swallows all the shadows in his room and then tries to eat the boy’s, as well.. The boy musters up some courage to fight the monster, but realizes that he must turn off all the lights in the room to get rid of the shadows. Being himself the one to bring the darkness he is scared of, the boy goes through several conflicts until he gets rid of all the shadows are gotten rid of.
KEEP QUIET
Written and directed by: Seok-jae HONG
Producer: Byung-sam LEE
Cinematographer: Min-woo KANG
Korea/2012/29’34”
“The truth behind a great conspiracy hidden between a conglomerate and a college foundation.”
Sung-mo, a college student preparing for his first job, gets hold of someone else’s cell phone while in the library reading room. Sung-mo mistakenly answers the phone and a strange woman’s voice begs that they meet quickly. The meeting with the stranger, Young-ji, is momentary. Despite her trying to tempt him, he does not giveher the phone. He only learns that Young-ji is the Dean’s secretary and unexpectedly Sung-mo starts being chased by people of any kind having to do with school life. His confusion brings him to thoroughly investigate the mystery.
Eventually, he realizes that the phone must hide a secret of some kind – a pornographic bvideo of the Dean and the woman. As time goes by, he discovers further information on what is going on around him.
A COUPLE’S ROOM
Written and directed by: JEON Youngseok
Korea, 2012, 4’46”
When parting, the world notices lovers saying goodbye to each other.
Sungmin and Sujin are lovers. Sungmin feels embarrassed when Susan leaves him an unexpected farewell notice.
[Director’s Statement] I want to visually express psychological shock and anxiety at the moment of parting.
