Month of free cinema offers feast of new film

Good news for moviegoers on a tight budget. Starting from tomorrow, free movie screenings will be offered at Seoul’s Hangang Park everyday during May, the city government said yesterday.
Jointly hosted by the city and the Motion Picture Association of Korea, 31 new Korean movies submitted to the 44th Daejong Film Festival will be screened in the park at 7:30 and 10 p.m. daily, the city said. Of the 31 movies, some are suitable only for viewers above the age of 15.
“Unlike past film festivals that consisted of an opening ceremony and an awards ceremony, the month-long free screening will offer an opportunity for residents in Seoul to be more interested in Korean movies,” said Yoon Sun-hee, an official at the city government’s cultural industry department.
The city government said it will make the free screening an annual event.
A large screen, 18 meters (59 feet) in width and 9 meters in height, will be set up in the park, which will be equipped with 2,000 to 2,500 seats.
Audiences will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis. Advance reservations will not be available.
The screening will kick off with “The Host,” a Korean blockbuster monster movie filmed around the Han River, at 10 p.m. It will follow the opening ceremony at 7:30 p.m. Before the screening, the film’s director Bong Joon-ho and actors Song Gang-ho, Byun Hee-bong, Park Hae-il and Koh Ah-seong will meet the audience and singer-actor Eom Jeong-hwa will perform on stage.
The park is a 3-minute walk from exit 1 of the Yeouinaru Station on line no. 5. No English subtitles will be available, according to the city.
The film festival will begin with an opening ceremony on June 1 at the park and end with an award ceremony at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts on June 8.
For more information on the festival, visit the Web site at www.daejongsang.com or call 2268-3684 to 6.

By Kim Soe-jung Staff Writer [soejung@joongang.co.kr]