Celebrating 10 years of screening the very best in Korean cinema Down Under, The Korean Film Festival in Australia (KOFFIA), returns to Sydney i 22-31 Aug, with a program that features a whopping 22 films, 13 of which are Australian Premieres.
Presented by the Korean Cultural Centre Australia, KOFFIA showcases the very best of Korean culture through film. From big-budget blockbusters to intimate art-house flicks, the Festival presents a packed program of world-class cinema, plucked straight out of Korea’s booming film industry.
Headlining the festival is winner of this year’s Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival and Sydney’s own Sydney Film Festival Prize, Parasite, a satire on income inequality by renowned director Bong Joon-ho.
A fully-fledged blockbuster in South Korea, Take Point is the second mainstream film for star Ha Jung-woo and centred on a CIA-backed plot to abduct North Korea’s supreme leader in the not too distant future.Shot in English, this action thriller is the perfect mix of multi national film making with cracking action choreography and a multi cultural cast.
The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil is an action thriller in which a South Korean gang lord teams up with a cocky young cop to find a killer. Slick, fun and action packed, the film has been such a hit that a U.S. remake, produced by Sylvester Stallone, is already in the works. So, please see the original whip smart piece before Sly screws with its mojo.
Based on the true story of a general in the 1990s who must win the trust of North Korea’s leaders and assess its nuclear weapons programme, The Spy Gone North, is a cold war story of espionage more akin to Le Carre than James Bond.
Another true story, The Great Battle, is a historical film about the siege of Ansi Fortress and the epic eighty-eight day battle that Yang Man-chun and his Goguryeo troops fought against 500,000 invading Tang dynasty men.
Opening night film A Resistance looks at actual events that took place when Korea was under the rule of Japan and a young girl’s resistance to her oppressors as she joins in the Korean independence movement.
For pure unadulterated fun from the studio behind the cult hit Train to Busan, Rampant is a period zombie thriller featuring incredible action sequences and stunning visuals.
Set in ancient Korea, Rampant sees the zombie genre meet political corruption in the Joseon dynasty.
A despotic ruler – “I will decide if we flourish or flounder!” – cankered with conspiracy paranoia and manipulated by an imperious puppet master minister makes one think of modern day North Korea. He turns a blind eye into total denial of a plague that is destroying his people, plagued himself with the madness of power and privilege.
Marshalling prodigious martial arts proficiency and wonderful wire work, director Sung-hoon Kim brings off a spectacle of great scale – a must see.
2019 KOFFIA screening dates and locations:
• Sydney: August 22 – 31 | Dendy Opera Quays
Website:www.koffia.com.au
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