Song Il-gon | |
---|---|
![]() Song Il-gon at the 2011 Busan International Film Festival | |
Born | |
Alma mater | Seoul Institute of the Arts National Film School in Łódź |
Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter |
Years active | 1998-present |
Korean name | |
Hangul | 송일곤 |
Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | Song Il-gon |
McCune–Reischauer | Song Il-gon |
Song Il-gon (born January 1, 1971) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter known for his internationally award-winning early short films, and later feature films such as Spider Forest (2004) and Feathers in the Wind (2005). Long more popular abroad than in South Korea, Song was the first Korean filmmaker to win an award at the Cannes Film Festival. [1]
Song Il-gon was born in Seoul on January 1, 1971. He studied Fine Arts at the Seoul Institute of the Arts. [1] After graduation he applied to study film in the United States. His visa application was rejected by that country, and Song instead attended the National Academy of Film in Łódź, Poland. He was only the second Korean student to study at this institution which is known for prominent alumni such as Roman Polanski and Krzysztof Kieślowski. [1] Unable to deal with specifically Korean themes or history while in Poland, Song turned to themes influenced by psychology and Western mythology. [1]
Beginning in 1998, Song's short films began attracting international attention. Liver and Potato (1998) took its inspiration from the biblical story of Cain and Abel. The Dream of the Clowns (also 1998) was filmed at a Polish circus. Both of these films were shown at international film festivals, and both were released at short-film specialty theaters in South Korea. [2] Song became the first Korean to win an award at the Cannes Film Festival with his short film Picnic (Sopoong, 1999), which was given the Jury Prize for Best Short Film. This film was also given the Grand Prix at the Melbourne International Film Festival. [1]
Back in Korea, Song was asked by the Seoul International Media Art Biennale (Media City Seoul) to make a 50-second video clip to be screened on electronic billboards for one month. He made Flush, about a teenage girl committing abortion in a public toilet. Even though Song had shown the screenplay to the government before filming, the authorities censored and removed the short after one day for its taboo subject. [3]
Song's first feature film was Flower Island (2001), a story about three women with psychological wounds traveling together to an island that is said to have magical healing powers. [3] [4] The film was successful internationally, winning prizes at the Venice Film Festival and the Fribourg International Film Festival among others. Afterward Song took an acting role in director Park Kyung-hee's debut film, A Smile (Miso, 2004). [5]
Spider Forest (2004), Song's second feature film, was not successful in the South Korean domestic market, either with audiences or critics. [1] But it was Song's first film to be given a region-1 DVD release in the U.S.
Song's next feature film, Feathers in the Wind was originally planned as a 30-minute short as part of omnibus film 1.3.6, but major South Korean production studio CJ Entertainment gave Song funds to make the work into a feature for individual release. The resulting film was Song's first domestic success, with some Korean critics acclaiming it as the best romance ever filmed in Korea. [6] The Magicians (2005) also began as a 40-minute short, one-third of the 2005 Jeonju Digital Project Talk to Her. [7] Song expanded the experimental digitally shot film into a 96-minute feature done entirely in one tracking shot. [8]
In February 2007, Song was reported to be working on a film with the working title of Telephone Girl. An adaptation of the stage play Telephone Modern Girl, the film was to deal with Korea during the 1920s and 1930s, when the country was modernizing under Japanese occupation. [9] However in January 2008, Song was reportedly in pre-production for a period horror film set during the Joseon Dynasty entitled Sahwa ("Royal Massacre"). This film was scheduled to begin shooting in March 2008. [10] Celebrated 1990s actor Moon Sung-keun was reported to be playing the lead role as a king dealing with murder as well as problems of a supernatural nature. [11] These projects did not push through.
In 2009 Song turned to documentaries, telling the story of the Korean diaspora in Cuba in Dance of Time. [12] [13] He also contributed the titular short film to Sorry, Thanks, an omnibus film dealing with the profound relationships people establish with their pets. [14]
Always , which opened the 2011 Busan International Film Festival, was his first mainstream film. [15] [16] Inspired by Charlie Chaplin's City Lights , [17] Song said he wanted to make a "conventional love story which takes place in today's urban city." [18] [19] [20]
Song shot the documentary Forest of Time in Yakushima, Japan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is said to have inspired Hayao Miyazaki's animated film Princess Mononoke . [21]
Busan, officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants as of 2017. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, with its port being South Korea's busiest and the sixth-busiest in the world. The surrounding "Southeastern Maritime Industrial Region" is South Korea's largest industrial area. The large volumes of port traffic and urban population in excess of 1 million make Busan a Large-Port metropolis using the Southampton System of Port-City classification.
The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), formerly the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan, South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festival, held from 13 to 21 September 1996, was also the first international film festival in Korea.
Bong Joon-ho is a South Korean film director, producer and screenwriter. The recipient of three Academy Awards, his filmography is characterised by emphasis on social and class themes, genre-mixing, black humor, and sudden tone shifts.
Kang Soo-yeon was a South Korean actress. An internationally acclaimed star from the mid-1980s to the end of the 1990s, she is often honorifically nicknamed Korea's "first world star".
Spider Forest is a 2004 South Korean horror-drama written and directed by Song Il-gon.
Woman Is the Future of Man is a 2004 South Korean film directed by Hong Sang-soo. The film was not a box-office hit, but was entered in the competition category of the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and received screenings at several other festivals. The title of the film is a translation of a line from a poem by Louis Aragon that the director saw printed on a French postcard.
My Scary Girl is a 2006 South Korean black/romantic comedy film written and directed by Son Jae-gon.
Park Hae-il is a South Korean actor. He began his acting career in theater, but soon gained the film industry's attention in 2003 with Scent of Love and Memories of Murder. Park's film career took off, with leading roles in notable films, including Rules of Dating (2005), The Host (2006), Moss (2010), War of the Arrows (2011), Eungyo (2012), Whistle Blower (2014), The Last Princess (2016), The Fortress (2017), Decision to Leave (2022) and Hansan: Rising Dragon (2022).
Feathers in the Wind is a 2004 South Korean film directed by Song Il-gon. It was originally planned as a 30-minute section of a three-part omnibus film with two other directors, entitled 1.3.6. At 73 minutes, the film exceeded the limits of the original omnibus format and was released on its own theatrically and on DVD.
Flower Island is a 2001 South Korean film directed by Song Il-gon. This was Song's first feature-length film after directing several award-winning short films.
Nabi is a 2001 South Korean science fiction film. Directed by Moon Seung-wook, Nabi was shot on digital video and transferred onto 35mm film, filmed on a low budget of $380,000. It marked the feature film debut of Kang Hye-jung, who won Best Actress at the 5th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival for her role as Yuki. Nabi also starred Kim Ho-jung, who won the Bronze Leopard for Best Actress at the 54th Locarno International Film Festival.
Sanjeewa Pushpakumara is a Sri Lankan film director, screenwriter and producer.
Jang Hyun-sung is a South Korean actor. He started his acting career as a member of the Hakjeon Theatre Company, before transitioning to film and television. Jang is best known for starring in director Song Il-gon's arthouse films such as Spider Forest (2004) and The Magicians (2006), and most notably Feathers in the Wind (2005), for which one review praised him for giving "the performance of his career." He also had major roles in Nabi (2001), Rewind, My Right to Ravage Myself (2005), Love Is a Crazy Thing (2005), and My Friend and His Wife (2008). Aside from acting, Jang was one of the screenwriters for the Moon Seung-wook film Romance (2006).
Yeon Sang-ho is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. He gained international popularity for working his adult animated films The King of Pigs (2011) and The Fake (2013), and the live-action film Train to Busan (2016), its animated prequel Seoul Station (2016) and live-action sequel Peninsula (2020), and first South Korean superhero film Psychokinesis (2018).
O Muel is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. He wrote and directed the award-winning film Jiseul in 2012.
Boo Ji-young is a South Korean director and scriptwriter. After graduating from the Korean Academy of Film Arts, she began her career in independent filmmaking in South Korea. She created her first film Sisters on the Road in 2008. She is best known for her film Cart (2014), which was screened at many international film festivals.
Shin Dong-il is a South Korean film director and script writer. His movies draw attention to social issues and class differences through well-developed, complex characters and relationships.
Park Jung-hoon is a South Korean cinematographer and film director. Park gained international recognition with the action thriller The Villainess, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017, with four awards as Director of Photography. Park has been working in the film industry for almost two decades on a variety of genres, including low-budget films, independent films, and documentaries.
Mist (Korean: 안개) is a 1967 black and white drama film directed by Kim Soo-yong about a businessman, Yun Gi-jun, who married into wealth and lives in Seoul, travels back to Mujin, his hometown. He embarks on a love affair with the local music teacher Ha In-suk and starts questioning his life choices.