The latest of the KCC’s screenings on university campuses is at the Royal College of Art’s Battersea site on 11 May:
Im Kwon-taek: Festival (축제, 1996)
+ Introduction by Tony Rayns
11 May / 6:30pm / Royal College of Art’s Gorvy Lecture Theatre
Dyson Building, Royal College of Art, Battersea SW11 4ANCast: Han Eun-jin, Oh Jeong-hae and Ahn Sung-ki
108 mins / Cert. 12
All Welcome! FREE Admission & Booking Essential
TO BOOK, please email kcc.projectteam4@gmail.com or call at 0207 004 2600
Im Kwon-Taek is South Korea’s most celebrated filmmaker and has made over one hundred films since his first, Farewell Duman River, in 1962. This film Festival is based on the novel of the same title by Lee Cheong-jun. It has an intriguing structure, moving between the unfolding reality of the funeral and a children’s story written by the main character Lee Joon-seop.
“Through the motif of the funeral, the most extensively scaled ceremony in life, I have tried to explore the meaning of death and its effects shadowing the bereaved. I have also tried to bring to light the sentiments of the survivors: their sorrow, egoism, solemnity and even frivolity. I want to give the viewers who see this film a moment to think about what is truly valuable and precious in our quickly changing world. At this moment, I consider this goal my duty as a director.” – Director Im Kwon Taek (quoted from 27th International Forum of New Cinema 1997)
Lee Joonsup is a famous writer in his 40s. One day he is informed that his mother who has been ill for a number of years has just passed away. Before he goes to his mother’s house to assist with the funeral, he is busy cancelling his appointments and making arrangements. A journalist, Jang Haerim, comes to the funeral to write an article about Joonsup’s literary world as seen through this family incident. The funeral starts and enmity among the family of the deceased deepens as Joonsup’s niece, Yongsoon, arrives. When the funeral ends, however, all the relatives begin to cherish the wisdom and life of Joonsup’s deceased mother.
