Opening film of Jeonju fete proves 'money' minor factor

By Shin Hae-in
JEONJU, South Korea, April 30 (Yonhap) -- The opening film of this year's Jeonju
International Film Festival (JIFF) proves a time-honored aphorism: money isn't
the sole element that determines the quality of a movie.
With just US$4,000 each, 10 young South Korean directors together created "Short!
Short! Short! 2009" that opened the film fete in this southwestern city Thursday.

"A decade has passed since we first began this project, but our budget has
remained unchanged," said Min Byung-lock, the director of JIFF, after the opening
film's press preview Thursday. "I feel grateful to the directors for their effort
in creating such a high-quality movie."
"Short???" is one of the JIFF's core projects to support and produce South Korean
short films. Celebrating its 10th year, festival organizers chose the "Short???"
film as its opener. The participating directors are "symbols to the South Korean
tinseltown Chungmuro and its independent cinema," organizers said.
In this digital omnibus feature, each director contributed short episodes of
about 10 minutes.
The common subject, ironically, is "money," an element that turns into a cause
for suicide, betrayal, or satire, or a portrait of the distorted society and link
to an old love, depending on each talented filmmaker.
In "Penny Lover," a woman in her 30s obsesses over a cent given to her by an
ex-boyfriend, who is at least 20 years younger than she and is just about to
start a fresh "young" romance.
Two men try to videotape their last words before committing suicide after losing
their restaurant to a swindler in "Our Last Words, Live," but even killing
themselves proves to be a handful for these clumsy men.
Unemployment and the stock market crash drive a husband and wife to a miserable
fate in "Anxiety," while a female laborer and her employer draw a humorous truce
over delayed payment in "A Hundred Nails and a Deer Antler."
"We made sure we never got to know about each other's work beforehand," said Kim
Sung-ho, creator of "Penny Lover." "We were surprised to find that none of the
episodes overlapped in terms of subject and style."
"I think this is a film showing how much Korean cinema has improved during the
past decade," he added. "I am honored to be given the chance to participate in
the project, especially in time for JIFF's 10th birthday."
Starting off with "Short???," JIFF, held each year in the city of Jeonju, about
240km south of Seoul, will continue to explore independent films by veteran and
emerging directors across the globe. Running through May 8, the event will
feature 200 films from 42 countries.
Hosted by popular South Korean actress Lee Tae-ran and actor Kim Tae-woo, the
opening event drew nearly 2,000 visitors from inside and outside the country,
according to organizers.
The winner of the Woosuk Award, JIFF's top prize for international feature films
and documentaries with a running time of more than 60 minutes, will receive
$10,000. Winners of the Korean feature film competition and shorts competition
will be given 10 million won and 5 million won, respectively.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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