Different, but complementary: three Asian directors featured in eccentric project of

By Shin Hae-in
JEONJU, South Korea, May 2 (Yonhap) -- One is funny, another is poignant, and the
other is completely down-to-earth -- but it's needless to talk about the effect
when all three are bound in one film.
United by the theme "Visitors," three talented filmmakers from Seoul, Tokyo and
Manila each contributed a 30-minute short film to this year's "Jeonju Digital
Project," one of the South Korean film festival's core programs.
Opening its 10th anniversary this year, the Jeonju International Film Festival
(JIFF) requested South Korea's Hong Sang-soo, Japan's Naomi Kawase and the
Philippines' Lav Diaz to work on the project, providing each with a small budget
of 50 million won (about US$37,000).
"We were surprised to find all three directors had dealt, in some way, with the
subject of visitors when we never gave them a theme," JIFF's program director,
Jung Soo-wan, said after the film's press preview Saturday.
South Korea's Hong, noted for his humorous and satiric portrayals of the hidden
-- and often ridiculous -- desires of Korean men, again talks about tangled
relationships in "Lost in the Mountains." Shot in Jeonju, his film is the
shortest among the three with a 31-minute running time.
"It was my first short film after leaving school and also the first time for me
to work together with foreign directors," Hong said. "I was grateful and happy
for the opportunity."
Japan's leading female director, Kawase, who won the Cannes 2007 Grand Prix with
her movie "The Mourning Forest," contributed "Koma," a story about a
third-generation Korean who discovers his identity after meeting a Japanese woman
in the regional Japanese town.
"I have always been interested in the issue of ethnic Koreans in Japan," she
said. "I think it was kind of fate for all three of us to have talked about one
subject. This opportunity has made me think more about the possibilities and
hopes of working together with Korean directors in the future."
Filipino director Diaz portrays the lives of former miners on Marinduque Island,
who face difficulties after the Canadian Mining Company shuts down the mine in
his movie "Butterflies Have No Memories."
The director said he chose to shoot the film in black-and-white to portray the
"dark history and struggle" behind the beautiful scenery of his country.
The digital shorts project has been drawing keen attention from movie critics
overseas, with two JIFF-commissioned films, "Expectations" and "Memories,"
receiving awards at the 2008 Dubai International Film Festival and the 2007
Locarno International Film Festival, respectively. Three directors are chosen
each year to produce short digital pieces to be premiered at the event.
JIFF, held each year in the traditional South Korean city of Jeonju about 240 km
south of Seoul, has been growing into one of the most important film festivals in
Asia. It is noted especially for its effort to discover hidden films from
non-Western regions. This year's event will run through May 8, featuring 200
films from 42 countries.
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
(END)