[ENTERTAINMENT]In Deauville, Korean films tres populaire

Koreans and the French - or at least the actress Brigitte Bardot - do not see eye to eye on the issue of dog meat. But when it comes to movies, the two countries get along swimmingly.

Both nations take great pride in their local movie industries, putting up a valiant fight against Hollywood. Both have screen quota systems, insisting that all theaters have mandatory screenings of local movies for minimum periods each year.

Besides the highly regarded Cannes International Film Festival, another city in France hosts a significant film festival - Deauville, a petite seaside resort town in lower Normandy, whose beach was made famous in "Un Homme et Une Femme" ("A Man and a Woman," 1966). Titled "Festival du Film Asiatique de Deauville," or Deauville Asian Film Festival, the fourth annual fete kicks off Thursday and runs until Sunday. Korea's most successful film festival, the Busan International Film Festival, has friendly, formal ties with the Deauville Asian Film Festival.

This year's festival is an example of the two's amicable relationship, having the venerable director Shin Sang-ok, 76, as the head of the jury and the subject of a retrospective. In only four years, this is Shin's second retrospective at Deauville, the first director to be so honored. His first came in 1999, the debut year of the festival.

This time, four of Shin's films will be presented: "Cheongil Jeonjaengagwa Yeogeol Minbi" ("The Sino-Japanese War and Brave Queen Minbi," 1965), "Dajeong Bulsim" ("Phantom Queen," 1967), "Naesi" ("Eunuch," 1968) and "Jeungbal" ("Vanished," 1994). "This time, the festival's programmer selected the films," Shin said, "while I picked my own the first time."

He added, "I feel kind of self-conscious to have so many retrospectives going on while I'm still alive and kicking as a director." Shin had a retrospective at last November's Busan International Film Festival, and he's scheduled for another at the Museum of Modern Art in New York from Monday to March 14.

But these days, plenty of Korean directors are gaining recognition at Deauville. Song Hae-sung will be competing with his 2001 drama "Failan," which starred Cecilia Cheung and Choi Min-sik. Kim Gi-duk, a favorite Korean filmmaker at international film festivals, will have "Address Unknown" (2001) featured in the Panorama section of recent films. Kim Sung-su will have his "Musa" ("Warrior," 2001) in the same section.

The Deauville festival will also feature Akira Kurosawa's director's cut version of "Kagemusha" ("The Shadow Warrior," 1980).

by Chun Su-jin