Korean Women Filmmakers: A Discussion with Director Yim Soon-rye April 22, 2009

Topic: Korean Women Filmmakers: A Discussion with Director Yim Soon-rye
Place: The Korea Society (950 Third Ave., 8Fl, New York, 10022)
Date: April 22 at 6:30PM
Moderator: Yunah Hong (Award winning Korean American documentary filmmaker)

Two video presentations by Yim Soon-rye, Keeping the Vision Alive: Women in Korean Filmmaking and The Weight of Her, will be screened, followed by a discussion with the director.

Yim Soon-rye is one of the most active female directors in Korea today, but her filmmaking is not about being a feminist, nor is it about feminism. As was demonstrated by Three Friends, her first feature film in which she explored the lives of three male recent high school graduates agonizing over their future careers while waiting to be called up for mandatory military service, Yim focuses on portraying the circumstances of everyday life, and has come to be recognized one of the top directors in Korea's tradition of cinematic realism. Three Friends (1996) won the NETPEC award at the Pusan International Film Festival, and played in many festivals including Berlin [? the Berlinale?], New Directors/New Films in New York, Vancouver, Seattle, Melbourne and Karlovyvary. Previously, her short film, Promenade in the Rain (1994), had won prizes at the Seoul, Clermont-Ferrand, and Fribourg film festivals. Her second feature film, Waikiki Brothers (2001), also played in major film festivals around the world. Her third feature film, Forever the Moment (2006), was her first major box office success. This film also was a critical success and won the prize for best film at the 2008 Blue Dragon Awards ceremony, one of the most prestigious film awards in Korea.

Keeping the Vision Alive: Women in Korean Filmmaking
Year: 2001
Length: 40 min
Combining archive footage, photographs and interviews, this documentary attempts to retell Korean film history through the voices of women directors, cinematographers, writers, editors and producers. The women reveal the many hardships they encountered in their careers, by talking about their experiences and struggles, and convey a vivid sense of what it means for women to make films in Korea and how it affects their own lives. The documentary includes an interview with Park Nam-ok, the first Korean female director.

The Weight of Her
Year: 2002
Length: 23 min
This short film takes a look behind the scenes in a girls' high school to expose how a young girl is pressured by social expectations and her teachers to look thin and beautiful. It is a blunt, pungent, and comical satire on the social norms that place an inordinate value on a woman’s external features, and the high school students who will do anything for beauty’s sake.

Official Website: http://www.koreasociety.org