Peninsula 반도 (South Korea)
Peninsula
반도 | South Korea | 2020
APUC Horror Marathon
Special Encore celebrating Halloween at FACETS Cinema
South Korea | 2020 | 116 minutes | in Korean, English, Cantonese, Polish w/English subtitles
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Starring: Gang Dong-won, Lee Jung-hyun
Film Source: Well Go USA
SYNOPSIS
Four years after South Korea’s total decimation in TRAIN TO BUSAN, the zombie thriller that captivated audiences worldwide, acclaimed director Yeon Sang-ho brings us PENINSULA, the next nail-biting chapter in his post-apocalyptic world. Jung-seok, a soldier who previously escaped the diseased wasteland, relives the horror when assigned to a covert operation with two simple objectives: retrieve and survive. When his team unexpectedly stumbles upon survivors, their lives will depend on whether the best—or worst—of human nature prevails in the direst of circumstances.
In-Cinema Screening
Thursday, Oct 27
@ 7 PM
FACETS Cinema
STILL GALLERY
TRAILER
DIRECTOR
Yeon Sang-ho
Yeon Sang-Ho is a South Korean director, and a screen writer, he was born in Seoul in 1978. He is graduated from Sangmyung University with a degree of Western Painting. He directed few short films as well Megalomania of D in 1997, followed by D-Day in 2000 and The Hell in 2003, then set up his own production house Studio Dadashow in 2004. Yeon Sang Ho known for directing a animated film such as The King of Pigs, The Window, The Fake, and his latest animated film is in 2016 called Seoul Station. Yeon Sang-Ho raise to prominence in 2016 after releasing his first live action movie in Cannes Film Festival 2016, his first live action movie is Train to Busan, that starring Gong Yoo, Jung Yumi, Ma Dong Seok, Choi Woo-shik, Ahn So-hee, and Kim Su-an. The movie is the sequel of his animated film Seoul Station, and both releasing in 2016, the movie gained a lot of attention from South Korea, and internationally, because he choose the genre that not a lot of South Korean director choose which is the zombie flick. The movie was screened at the Midnight Screening at Cannes Festival, the movie was rumored to be remake with by the Hollywood production, Train to Busan is the first South Korean movie that gained 10 millions theatergoers in South Korea, and the number is still counting. Yeon Sang-Ho sometimes created his movie based on his own personal life as well. For example the The King of Pigs, he said that he was inspired by his own life experience, and he cried during the writing time of the script, The Window is based on his life during his mandatory military service.
- IMDb
This screening is sponsored in part by
The Mimic 장산범 (South Korea)
The Mimic
장산범 | South Korea | 2020
APUC Horror Marathon
Special Encore celebrating Halloween at FACETS Cinema
South Korea | 2018 | 100 minutes | in Korean w/English subtitles
Director: Huh Jung
Starring: Yum Jung-ah, Park Hyuk-kwon, Shin Rin-ah
Film Source: Well Go USA
SYNOPSIS
A classic Korean ghost story gets a horrifying new spin in THE MIMIC, as the mother of a missing child takes in a lost girl she finds in the woods and soon begins to wonder if she is even human.
In-Cinema Screening
Thursday, Oct 13
@ 7 PM
FACETS Cinema
STILL GALLERY
TRAILER
DIRECTOR
Huh Jung
Huh Jung (born 1981) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Huh directorial debut - a low-budget horror-thriller Hide and Seek (2013) starring Son Hyun-joo, was an unexpected hit in 2013 with 5.6 million admissions.[1][2][3] His second feature - also a horror film, titled The Mimic, stars actress Yum Jung-ah and is scheduled to release in 2017.
This screening is sponsored in part by
Stellar: A Magical Ride 스텔라 (South Korea)
Stellar: A Magical Ride
스텔라 | South Korea | 2022
Due to the program amendment for the post-film discussion, STELLA: A MAGICAL RIDE has been rescheduled from 4:30 PM to 5:15 PM.
Midwest Premiere
South Korea | Drama/Fantasy/Comedy | 2022 | 98 minutes | in Korean w/English subtitles
Director: Kwon Soo-kyung
Starring: Son Ho-jun, Lee Kyu-hyung
Film Source: Finecut Co. Ltd.
Please stay for a post-film discussion led by professor Ron Falzone – an award-winning screenwriter and Associate Professor at Columbia College Chicago as well as an Instructor in film comedy at Second City Film School.
In-Cinema Screening
Sunday, Oct 2
at 5:15 PM
@ AMC Niles 12
SYNOPSIS
This film had its international premiere at the 20th New York Asian Film Festival in July and this is what their programmer said about the film:
“Young Bae is an average high-end automobile broker, working on the deal of a lifetime: an imported supercar. All hell breaks loose when his best friend inexplicably steals the lucrative vehicle, setting a gang of ruthless loan sharks in hot pursuit. Young Bae’s only option is to go on the run in his recently departed father’s prize possession, a comically decrepit jalopy named Stellar. The journey forces him to reconcile with the past and overcome misgivings about fatherhood. With spot-on 80’s nostalgia and Heo Sung-tae from SQUID GAME chewing scenery as the baddies’ leader, this extreme comedy of errors (penned by Extreme Job screenwriter Bae Se-young) more than earns its tears and laughter — and all at Mach Speed.”
STILL GALLERY
TRAILER
DIRECTOR
KWON Soo-kyung
Selected Filmography:
2016 - My Annoying Brother
2014 - Fly Me To The Moon
2006 - Barefoot Ki-Bong
This screening is sponsored in part by
Chun Tae-il: A Flame That Lives On 태일이 (South Korea)
Chun Tae-il:
A Flame That
Lives On
태일이 | South Korea | 2021
U.S. Premiere – CENTERPIECE FILM
South Korea | Animation | 2021 | 99 minutes | in Korean w/English subtitles
Director: Hong Jun-pyo
Voice casts: Jang Dong-yoon, Yeom Hye-ran, Jin Seon-kyu, Park Chul-min, Kwon Hae-hyo, Tae In-ho
Film Source: Finecut Co. Ltd.
Recipient of the 2017 SBA (Seoul Business Agency) Feature-length Animation Funding Program and the 2018 Korean Film Council (KOFIC) Animation Film Funding Program. Showcased at the 26th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), Korean Cinema Today - Panorama Section in 2021
Please stay for a post-film discussion led by professor Ron Falzone – an award-winning screenwriter and Associate Professor at Columbia College Chicago as well as an Instructor in film comedy at Second City Film School.
In-Cinema Screening
Sunday, Oct 2 at 2:30 PM
@ AMC Niles 12
SYNOPSIS
When Tae-il gets hired as a tailor’s assistant at Pyeonghwa Market, he dreams of becoming a full-fledged tailor one day to be able to financially support his family and put his brothers and sisters through school. But when his hard work finally earns him the position he has been yearning for, he finds himself constantly reminded of the faces of the young female laborers slaving for pay that amounted to no less than the equivalent of a cup of coffee and vomiting blood from the dire working conditions they were placed under. Realizing no change can come just from kindness, the young twenty-two-year-old Tae-il decides to confront a reality in which ‘Labor Standards Act’ is not being enforced and becomes the bearer of hope himself.
“COMPLY WITH THE LABOR STANDARDS ACT! WE ARE NOT MACHINES!”
“I wanted to step away from Chun Tae-il’s patriotic martyr image and depict a young twentysomething Tae-il who is just like us,” director Hong said. “I hope the audience can reach out to Tae-Il through CHUN TAE-IL: A FLAME THAT LIVES ON, and in the process find their own strength to change”.
Awards:
- Recipient of the 2017 SBA(Seoul Business Agency) Feature-length Animation Funding Program
- Recipient of the 2018 Korean Film Council(KOFIC) Animation Film Funding Program; Showcased at the 26th Busan International Film Festival(BIFF), Koreans Cinema Today -Panorama Section in 2021
STILL GALLERY
TRAILER
DIRECTOR
Hong Jun-pyo
Born in 1985, he studied animation at Korea National University of Arts, School of Film, TV& Multimedia. He first attracted attention with his short animation Across the Wind he directed in 2012 which won the ‘First Flight Prize’ at the Korea Independent Animation Film Festival. He subsequently opened ‘Studio Roomer’ in 2013 with a group of talented and creative artists to create emotionally-driven original works that include Map: Prologue and web-animation Yoilmada. He explains his decision to direct his feature debut Chun Tae-il: A Flame that Lives On, “I wanted to step away from CHUN Tae-il’s patriotic martyr image and depict a young 20-some Tae-il who is just like us”. He continues to explain, “It was personally quite appealing to me to be able to create an image of CHUN Taeil and Seoul during the late 60s to the early 70s”. Also adding, “I hope the audience can reach out to Taeil through Chun Tae-il: A Flame that Lives On, and during this process find their own strengths for change”.
This screening is sponsored in part by
My Perfect Roommate 룸 쉐어링 (South Korea)
My Perfect Roommate
룸 쉐어링 | South Korea | 2022
Due to the program amendment for the post-film discussion, MY PERFECT ROOMMATE has been rescheduled from 4:30 PM to 5 PM.
U.S. Premiere
South Korea | Drama/Family | 2022 | 91 minutes | in Korean w/English subtitles
Director: Lee Soon-sung
Starring: Na Moon-hee, Choi Woo-sung
Film Source: Finecut Co. Ltd.
Selected for 2022 Jeonju International Film Festival - Korean Cinema
Please stay for a post-film discussion led by professor Ron Falzone – an award-winning screenwriter and Associate Professor at Columbia College Chicago as well as an Instructor in film comedy at Second City Film School.
In-Cinema Screening
Saturday, Oct 1 at
5 PM
@ AMC Niles 12
SYNOPSIS
“Please don’t poo at home!” Gum Bun’s one word puts Ji Woong at a loss. Gum Bun, an old lady who’s lived alone all her life, and Ji Woong, a young college student who’s ready to do anything to earn money, now have to live together following a government initiated “Saving Rent Project with Elderly Living Alone”. Living with someone else is not an easy task for anybody, and it becomes even more challenging when it comes to a seventy-year-old lady and a young male college student.
“Loveable veteran actress Na Moon-hee practically carries the film on her two aged but nonetheless strong shoulders…. She has played this role of a grumpy ajhumma a few times now, but just like Ma Dong-seok’s hardman act, it is one that you cannot tire of seeing.” Rhythm Zaveri, asianmoviepulse.com
STILL GALLERY
TRAILER
DIRECTOR
He worked as a film sound mixer since 2006, including KINGMAKER, THE DIVINE FURY, I CAN SPEAK, THE DIVINE MOVE, and PUNCH. He has been invited to 24th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival and 19th Florence Korean Film Festival for his first short film AN MISFORTUNE (2020). MY PERFECT ROOMMATE is his feature debut film.
This screening is sponsored in part by
Chorokbam 초록밤 (South Korea)
Chorokbam
초록밤 | South Korea | 2021
Midwest Premiere
South Korea | Drama | 2021 | 89 minutes | in Korean w/English subtitles
Director: Yoon Seo-jin
Starring: Lee Tae-hoon, Kim Min-kyung, Kang Gil-woo
Film Source: M-Line Distribution
Winner of 26th Busan International Film Festival - Vision - CGV Arthouse Award
Please stay for a post-film discussion led by professor Ron Falzone – an award-winning screenwriter and Associate Professor at Columbia College Chicago as well as an Instructor in film comedy at Second City Film School.
In-Cinema Screening
Saturday, Oct 1 at 2:30 PM
@ AMC Niles 12
SYNOPSIS
When the curtain of the green night rises, we will watch a fraction of one family’s drama.
“Chorokbam—“Green night.” The night of envy. Or is it fate? A night guard discovers a dead cat hanging by its neck during one of his shifts. As if struck by a vision of things to come, a bad omen, his familial life starts crumbling. His overworked wife grows further exasperated and their son, working as social worker, barely makes ends meet. As if cursed, or predetermined, the death of a relative begins an unraveling of buried family secrets.
Winner of the CGV Arthouse Award at the latest Busan International Film Festival and perhaps best described as an existential horror film by way of “slow cinema” reminiscent of masters such as Tsai Ming Liang and Roy Andersson, Yoon Seo-jin’s deliberate debut CHOROKBAM is a stunning family snapshot that turns the month-to-month life of an ordinary family into an injustice of nearly cosmic proportions. Parable for a vanishing middle class, perhaps, or a simply cathartic vision of doom, Yoon’s slow-burner tour-de-force is suffused with a foreboding, suffocating atmosphere of dread and a disquieting sense of mise-en-scène — amounting to a potent visualization of anxiety, grief, and depression as it permeates and obliterates one’s worldview. Yet it is also a rare, macabre movie that finds, in its heart, the ability to be overwhelmingly beautiful, every single frame a revelatory experience for those willing to look into its dark abyss.”—Ariel Esteban Cayer, Fantasia 2022
STILL GALLERY
TRAILER
DIRECTOR
Yoon Seo-jin
Yoon Seo-jin was born in South Korea. His film Cicada was invited to the Korean Competition at the Busan International Short Film Festival 2019. Chorokbam is Yoon Seo-jin′s first feature film.
Director’s Filmography:
2019 - CICADA - 19min / HD / B&W
2021 - CHOROKBAM - 89min / HD / COLOR
This screening is sponsored in part by
The Wailing 곡성 (South Korea)
The Wailing
곡성 | South Korea
APUC Horror Marathon
Midwest Premiere celebrating Halloween at FACETS Cinema
South Korea | Horror | 2016 | 156 minutes | in Korean & Japanese w/English subtitles
Director: Na Hong-jin
Starring: Kwak Do-won, Hwang Jung-min, Kunimura Jun, Chun Woo-hee
Film Source: Well Go USA
SYNOPSIS
In this unbelievably tense supernatural thriller, a foreigner’s mysterious appearance in a quiet, rural village causes suspicion among the locals - suspicion which quickly turns to hysteria as the townspeople begin killing each other in brutal outbursts for seemingly no reason. As the investigating officer watches his daughter fall under the same savage spell, he agrees to consult a shaman for answers - unknowingly escalating the situation into something far more dangerous.
Over six years in the making, director Na Hong-jin’s meticulously crafted follow-up to the globally acclaimed THE YELLOW SEA and THE CHASER (his third to premiere at the Festival de Cannes) smashed box office records upon its debut in South Korea, where fans are already making return viewings to catch new clues and debate what’s sure to be the most talked-about ending of 2016.
In-Cinema Screening
Thursday, Sept 29
@ 7 PM
FACETS Cinema
STILL GALLERY
TRAILER
DIRECTOR
Na Hong-jin
Na Hong-jin has gained international recognition with his feature film debut THE CHASER (2008) and follow up THE YELLOW SEA (2010). He realized his unique perspective and fully fleshed out the genre of “Korean noir” through his distinct visual style and bold touch.
Relentless and sorrowful, THE WAILING explores, in depth, humans who are instinctively roused and corrupted by an unknown being who can neither be defined as real nor imaginary, good nor evil.
Filmography
THE WAILING (2016)
69th Cannes Film Festival - Out of Competition
THE YELLOW SEA (2010)
64th Cannes Film Festival - Un Certain Regard 17th LA Film Fest - The Beyond
28th Filmfest München - Focus Far East
15th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival - Best Director 60th Melbourne International Film Festival - Accent on Asia
7th Fantastic Fest - Official Selection
44th SITGES - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia - Official Fantastic - Best Direction Award
THE CHASER (2008)
61st Cannes Film Festival - Out of competition (Midnight Projections)
41st SITGES - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia - Casa Àsia-Orient Express - Casa Àsia Award 12th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival - Screen International Critics’ Choice
31st Golden Film Festival - Best New Director
29th Oporto International Film Festival - Fantasporto - Orient Express - Special Jury Award 11th Deauville Asian Film Festival - Action Asia - Best Action Asia Film
27th Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film - Thriller Competition - The Prize of the Best
This screening is sponsored in part by
Not Out 낫아웃 (South Korea)
Not Out
낫아웃 | South Korea | 2021
U.S. Premiere
South Korea | Drama | 2021 | 108 minutes | in Korean w/English subtitles
Director: Lee Jung-gon
Starring: Jeong Jae-kwang, Jung Seung-kil, Lee Kyu-sung, Song Yi-jae
Film Source: M-Line Distribution
Jeong Jae-kwang playing Gwang-ho is the recipient of Season 15’s Bright Star Award representing South Korea Cinema.
Jeong will receive the award virtually before the screening of NOT OUT.
Post film discussion led by Prof. Ron Falzone.
In-Cinema Screening
Sunday, Sept 25 at 4:30 PM
@ AMC Niles 12
SYNOPSIS
What should I do if I quit playing baseball?
Gwang-ho, a top prospect on his high school baseball team, does not get drafted by a professional baseball team. To continue his baseball career, he has no choice but to apply to the university baseball club without his high school coach’s permission. This sudden decision strains his relationship with his team members and the coach. With no one to depend on, Gwang-ho begins selling fake gasoline with his childhood friend Min-cheol, fully knowing that this will lead him to a dead end with no future.
STILL GALLERY
TRAILER
DIRECTOR
Lee Jung-gon
Dropped Kyunghee Univ. college of Art & Design and graduated Korea Academy of Film Arts. Invited with A Third Party (2014), The Distance Between Us (2016) in a few film festivals; Seoul Independent Film Festival, Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival, and Busan International Film Festival. Not Out is his first full-length film.
This screening is sponsored in part by
Director’s Intention 영화의 거리 (South Korea)
Director’s Intention
영화의 거리 | South Korea | 2021
World Premiere
South Korea | Drama/Romance | 2021 | 77 minutes | in Korean w/English subtitles
Director: Kim Min-geun
Starring: Han Sun-hwa, Lee Wan
Film Source: M-Line Distribution
Please stay for a post-film discussion led by professor Ron Falzone – an award-winning screenwriter and Associate Professor at Columbia College Chicago as well as an Instructor in film comedy at Second City Film School.
In-Cinema Screening
Sunday, Sept 25 at 2:30 PM
@ AMC Niles 12
SYNOPSIS
Why don’t we just focus on the work and get on with it?
Sun-hwa is a location manager in Busan who scouts locations for film shoots. She’s always loved her work and her city. One day, she joins a new project out of the blue. But as soon as she walks through the door, she recognizes the director immediately. It’s Do-young, her ex-boyfriend who left her and went to Seoul to fulfill his dream. They were lovers in the past but now Sun-hwa has to face him as a business partner. To make things worse, all he says is “NO!”
STILL GALLERY
TRAILER
DIRECTOR
Kim Min-geun
2012 Busan JIN high school Graduation
Director’s Filmography:
Short Film - Spring (2012.7 / Cinematographer)
Short Film - That place (2015.4 / Cinematographer)
Short Film - Mother’s landscape (2015.09 ~ 2016.05 / Director)
Short Film - Where to go (2016.08 ~ 2017.07 / Director)
Short Film - In the dust of Time (2016.05 ~ 2016.09 / Cinematographer)
Short Film - Mom is my Bacchusd (2017.05 ~ 07 / Cinematographer)
Short Film - The Guest (2018.05 / Director)
Feature Film - Director’s Intention (2021.09 / Director)
This screening is sponsored in part by
Mother's Place 엄마의 자리 (South Korea)
Mother's Place
엄마의 자리 | South Korea | 2022
World Premiere
South Korea | Family | 2022 | 114 minutes | in Korean w/English subtitles
Director: Ryu Hee-jung
Starring: Jung Da-bin, Eum Moon-suk, Oh Yeon-ah
Film Source: M-Line Distribution
Please stay for a post-film discussion led by professor Ron Falzone – an award-winning screenwriter and Associate Professor at Columbia College Chicago as well as an Instructor in film comedy at Second City Film School.
In-Cinema Screening
Saturday, Sept 24 at 4:30 PM
@ AMC Niles 12
SYNOPSIS
I thought we belonged together, or maybe it was just me.
Yuna is a teenage girl who just lost her mother and stepfather in a car accident. Without giving her time to mourn for them, suddenly, the elders of the stepfather’s family claim that Yuna’s mother can’t be buried next to him since she’s not their family member. Even her sister and brother don’t take issue with their decision. Yuna believes all along that they were all a family but now, it looks like they aren’t. If the mother’s place isn’t next to her husband, where should it be?
STILL GALLERY
DIRECTOR
Ryu Hee-jung
RHU Hee-jung graduated from Dongguk University Graduate School of Film and Video. She started as a film director in Chungmuro in her 20s, established a post production company for movie dramas based on her assistant director experience, directed visual effects for dozens of Korean and Chinese blockbuster films, and directed works that can impress based on her many years of film experience. She prepared her first feature(MOTHER’S PLACE) with a screenplay she wrote herself based on the story of her family.
This screening is sponsored in part by
Fairy 요정 (South Korea)
Fairy
요정 | South Korea | 2021
International Premiere
South Korea | Drama | 2021 | 79 minutes | in Korean w/English subtitles
Director: Shin Tack-su
Starring: Ryu Hyun-kyung, Kim Ju-hun, Kim Sin-bi
Film Source: M-Line Distribution
Selected for 26th Busan International Film Festival -Panorama
Please stay for a post-film discussion led by professor Ron Falzone – an award-winning screenwriter and Associate Professor at Columbia College Chicago as well as an Instructor in film comedy at Second City Film School.
In-Cinema Screening
Saturday, Sept 24 at 2:30 PM
@ AMC Niles 12
SYNOPSIS
Make a wish, and a fairy will help you.
Cheol and Ran, who run their own cafés in a small town, fall in love and get married. After they marry, however, due to a remaining rental contract, they are obliged to continue running the 2 cafés. One day, they hit Seok, a wandering boy, with their car and decide to keep him with them for a while to hide the accident. And then a miracle happens. After Seok working as a part time worker at Cheol’s café, for no particular reason, Cheol experiences a boom in business from one day to the next. Ran slowly notices that Seok might be the reason for its huge success.
STILL GALLERY
TRAILER
DIRECTOR
Shin Tack-su
Born in Seoul
Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
Korea National University of Arts
Director’s Filmography:
2019 - Assembly - Short Film
This screening is sponsored in part by