Women in Film to Be Screened and Discussed

A three-day movie festival in Seoul this weekend will focus on the works, lives, status and history of Korean actresses.

The Women in Film Korea festival (www.wifilm.com), beginning Friday at Munhwa-Ilbo Hall, will include screenings of old films and new ones along with discussions of the topics they raise. Some of the principals will also be on hand.

"Minmyunuri" (which means a young girl taken into a family as a future daughter-in-law) will open the festival on Friday at 6 p.m. Released in 1964, the film was directed by Choi Eun-hee, a popular actress at the time.

Another highlight will be "Pearl Beneath the Mud － The History of Korean Actresses," which will be shown Saturday at 7 p.m. The director, Byun Young-ju, will introduce the film, and the program will include a discussion of women's roles in the film industry since 1930.

More recent movies will also be shown. These include "Birdcage Inn" by Yoo Hee-sook, which will be shown on Saturday at noon; "Raid on Gas Station" by Kim Mi-hee, which will be shown on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., and "Joint Security Area" by Shim Jae-myung, which is breaking domestic box office records and will be shown on Sunday at 7 p.m.

Also on Sunday, about a dozen short movies by women directors will compete for a 10 million won (about $9,000) prize. In addition, there will be an exhibition of costumes and other items from movies such as "Swiri" and "The Gingko Bed." For information on the festival, call 02-3701-5757.

On Thursday and Friday, the Art Sonje Center will show six short films by the leading director Lim Chang-jae. A German film festival at the center will feature 35 short films portraying Germany during in the late 1990s.

by Park Jeong-ho