Rare festival comes to St Andrews

A box-office smash, ruthless university applicants and suicidal sleeper spies are among the stories to be told at an exclusive film festival coming to St Andrews.

Three Korean films will be shown in the town as part of the London Korean Film Festival’s (LKFF) tour which will take place in the New Picture House this week 21-22 November.

Professor Dina Iordanova, Professor of Film Studies at the University of St Andrews, was instrumental in bringing the event to the town after hosting Ms Hye-jung Jeon, Project Director of the Korean Cultural Centre UK, Artistic Director of the LKFF, and who is also the Korean cultural attaché, during a visit to St Andrews on her tour of Britain to scout cinemas and appropriate venues for the LKFF on Tour.

Professor Iordanova has extensive experience working with Korean film makers and festival producers and was in South Korea in October where she gave a talk at the biggest film festival in Asia -the Busan International Film Festival and presented three new books published at the Busan Film Forum.

Prof Iordanova said: “We are tremendously proud that we were able to bring these outstanding Korean films to a small but cosmopolitan town like St Andrews – not just for our students but also for the people of the town and the surrounding area.

“It very rarely happens that any of these thematic festivals go outside of London and so we have done the unimaginable.”

The films include Secretly, Greatly – a film which broke several box office records in South Korea this year: the highest single day opening for a domestic film; most tickets sold in one day for a domestic film; the biggest opening weekend; and the fastest movie to reach the 1 million, 2 million, 3 million, and 4 million marks in audience numbers.

It tells the tale of North Korean sleeper cell agent, Ryu-han who infiltrates the South and assumes the role of a simpleton in a rural town. One day, after two years, fellow elite spies Hae-rang, posing as a rock star, and Hae-jin, posing as an ordinary student, are dispatched to town. Ryu-han helps the two spies settle in and teaches them how to adjust in the South. There is a sudden drastic political power shift in the North and all three spies receive an urgent mission: commit suicide.

Rough Play tells the tale of an aspiring unknown actor and his rise to the top. The problem is, staying at top is much harder than getting there. Young is surrounded by violent people and becomes increasingly vain. Rough Play makes clear the illusion of show business.

Finally, Pluto is a story of the lengths that elite High School seniors are prepared to go to guarantee entry into prestigious universities, and asks at what price is success? Recommended by London Korean Film Festival Advisor, Tony Rayns.

Screenings of Secretly Greatly (Jang Chul-soo), Rough Play (Shin Yeon-sik) and Pluto (Su-won Shin) will take place on Thursday evening, 21 November and Friday afternoon, 22 November organised by Jeongeun Choi, Film Festival Coordinator of The London Korean Film Festival 2013 and Stefanie Van de Peer, Research Coordinator of CFS.

Note to Editors

Tickets for the following showings are available at the New Picture House:

Thursday 21 November: Pluto at 5.45pm.

Friday 22 November: Rough Play at 1.45pm.

Friday 22 November: Secretly Greatly at 3.45pm.

Prices are £7 for adult stalls, circle £8.00, children £4.50, and seniors are £6.

For all the details go to The London Korean Film Festival in St Andrews.

All info on the London Korean Film Festival.

Issued by the Press Office, University of St Andrews

Contact Fiona MacLeod on 01334 462108/ 0771 414 0559.

Ref: (Korean 20/11/13)

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