[ENTERTAINMENT]Resfest Proves Digital Filmmaking No Fad

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[ENTERTAINMENT]Resfest Proves Digital Filmmaking No Fad

"To say digital filmmaking is the future of film doesn't mean anything anymore," said Soh Jae-young, the programmer behind Resfest, an international digital film festival opening in Jeonju on Thursday.

"The future is here."

If Resfest, which closed its Seoul run on Sunday, is a vision of a future that has arrived, the future looks bright. In "Anniversary Party," stars such as Gwenyth Paltrow, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kevin Kline and Jennifer Beals perform as part of a loose, half-improvised ensemble for small, hand-held digital cameras. Documentaries are edited as events unfold in "E-Dreams." And in the category Shorts: By Design, plot and character development take a backseat to music and images.

"In Korea, people still talk about digital as new, but that's changing," said Mr. Soh, who is also a professor in the film department at the Seoul Institute of Art.

Last year, Resfest, short for resolution festival, received 100 domestic submissions. This year, organizers chose from 300 entries. More than 4,000 people attended this year, up from 2,300 a year ago.

One director who attended the Seoul opening on Thursday was impressed by the diverse audience - the festival drew directors, aspiring directors, Fulbright alumni, mainstream producers, Web designers, English teachers, graphic designers and photographers. One recent film graduate from Boston found out about the festival from a friend in New York, where Resfest ust had a run.

The opening film at Keon-ji Art Hall, Jeonju, on Thursday is "Anniversary Party." The festival is divided into several sections: feature-length films; Batch Capture, a collection of domestic films; Shorts, a variety of animation, live action narratives, and graphics-oriented designs; Cinema Electronica, innovative music videos; and Openers, title designs for movies such as "Shaft," "Hollow Man" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley."

When Resfest had its Korea premiere last year, digitally created films were attracting much hype. The medium was new and people thought it was going to revolutionize the system. Now, digital video is beginning to make good on that promise. From preproduction to postproduction, from writing a script to shooting on set, digital tools are no longer an exception, but a way of life for filmmakers, and thus, for viewers.

The speed of these changes has forced Resfest to can its 2000 motto - "The future of filmmaking" - replacing it with the more unwieldy "A global digital festival exploring the dynamic interplay of film, art, music and more...."

Mr. Soh brought the festival to Korea last year out of a desire to see growth in the Korean film industry. "There is so much untapped potential here," he said. "I'm learning a lot and looking for that Korean genius who will change the film industry."





For more information, call 02-3275-3747 or visit the Web site at www.resfest.com.


by Joe Yong-hee

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