Rising talents get spotlight at Korean Academy of Film Arts graduation film fest
The Korean Academy of Film Arts will host its annual Graduation Film Festival March 7-9 at Megabox Seongsu in Seoul, with an additional screening day on March 15 at the Korean Film Council's headquarters in Busan, organizers announced Tuesday.
Under the slogan "Like a Movie," this year's festival will present 38 films from KAFA's latest graduates, offering audiences a first glimpse at Korea's emerging cinematic talents. The lineup includes 18 live-action short films, five short animations, seven feature-length animations, six feature-length live-action films and two demo productions from the KAFA Actors program.
Notable works include "First Summer" (Korean title: "Cheotyeoreum") directed by Huh Ga-young, a live-action short film that pairs 1970s star Heo Jin with actor Jung In-ki, and the short animation "Fantasy Theater" (Korean title: "hwan-sang-geuk-jang") directed by Han Sol-mi, a tale about a historic single-screen cinema in Wonju awaiting demolition.
The festival will also screen "Hana Meets Hana," directed by Kim Jung-byeon-ji, which won the best director award at the 20th San Diego International Kids' Film Festival, and "Tango at Dawn" directed by Kim Hyo-eun, a feature-length film previously invited to the 29th Busan International Film Festival's Korean Cinema Today section.
Over its 41-year history, KAFA has established itself as Korea's premier film academy. Acclaimed directors who got their start in the program include Bong Joon-ho, Uhm Tae-hwa of "Vanishing Time: A Boy Who Returned" and "Concrete Utopia," and Jang Joon-hwan of "Save the Green Planet!," "Hwayi" and "1987."
Screening times and tickets can be found on KAFA's official Instagram with options for advanced online booking and on-site purchases at the venue.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
18 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Korean, Vietnamese content industry leaders forge deeper ties
Korean and Vietnamese entertainment executives and government officials have vowed to expand cooperation, citing the growing appetite for K-content in Vietnam and the shared ambition to strengthen respective countries' creative industries. At the Korea-Vietnam Cultural Industry Cooperation Roundtable held in Seoul on Monday, Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Chae Hwi-young noted that "now is the time to elevate bilateral cultural exchanges to the next level.' Chae outlined Korea's blueprint for cultural industry growth, which includes expanded policy financing, tax incentives, and research and development in cultural technology, alongside an AI-driven innovation strategy spanning content creation, production and distribution. Vietnam's Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung expressed his country's willingness to 'actively learn from Korea's advanced cultural industry' and hoped the two nations would 'share more valuable experiences based on mutual trust and cultural commonalities.' The roundtable also brought together the two countries' leading content companies. From Korea, executives from HYBE, Krafton and Carriesoft presented success cases in music, gaming and animation, respectively, while BHD CEO Ngo Bich Hanh, VAC founder Dinh Ba Thanh and YeaH1 CEO Le Phuong Thao offered insights into industry trends and challenges in Vietnam. Youth-driven market in Vietnam For Sohn Ki-won, CEO of Kim Jonghak Production, the company behind many popular Korean shows, Vietnam's demographic profile is a key reason for targeting the market. 'Vietnam is a young country with great growth potential,' she said, noting that the average age is around 33, with 40 percent of the population living in urban areas and a high proportion of content-consuming 20- and 30-somethings. Sohn pointed to Vietnam's high receptivity to Korean culture — from K-pop to Korean food — and its government's commitment to digital infrastructure development as fertile ground for collaboration. 'Coupled with Korea's own AI industry growth policies, we see the potential for sustainable cultural industry growth through cooperation,' she said. Kim Jonghak Production is exploring both remake proposals using its existing intellectual property and joint planning of original projects, including casting Vietnamese actors in Korean TV shows and co-producing Vietnamese shows. While there is no fixed release date, Son said romantic comedies and family dramas are genres that resonate strongly with Vietnamese audiences. Anticipated challenges include cultural and production differences. 'Despite our cultural affinity, there are differences in sentiment, storytelling and social taboos,' Sohn said, adding that language, time zones and decision-making pace could also slow processes. 'We need to address these from the early planning stage and proceed step-by-step.' From remakes to co-production BHD Vice President Ngo Bich Hanh highlighted her company's long history of bringing Korean content to Vietnam. In 1997, BHD became the first company to license a Korean show from KBS for broadcast on national TV. Since then, it has distributed numerous Korean films and produced remakes of major titles such as "Descendants of the Sun" and "Good Doctor." This year marks a shift toward deeper collaboration. BHD, together with Film and TV Asia, has signed a memorandum of understanding to co-produce an original Vietnam-Korea film, set to begin filming in Vietnam in March 2026 with release targeted for the end of that year. Ngo emphasized the need for institutional support. 'We hope Korea's government organizations will provide more incentives for international co-productions and location filming. Cinema is facing difficulties worldwide, so additional funding and location support will be crucial to staying strong and promoting Vietnamese and Korean culture together," she said.
Korea Herald
19 hours ago
- Korea Herald
'Golden' from 'KPop Demon Hunters' tops music charts in US, UK
Song from Netflix film reaches No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100, becoming 9th associated with Korean pop to reach highest spot The hype around Netflix's "KPop Demon Hunters" shows no sign of abating, with a song from its soundtrack emerging as the summer's biggest pop hit since its release in June. "Golden" has climbed to No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart, beating out Alex Warren's "Ordinary" for the top spot, according to Billboard on Monday. This marks the ninth song associated with Korean pop to reach the highest spot on the chart, joining "Seven" by Jungkook and "Like Crazy" by Jimin, both of BTS, in 2023, among them. Sung by the fictional girl group Huntrix — voiced by Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami — it is also the first such song by female vocalists, according to Billboard. The Billboard Hot 100 ranks the most popular songs in the US based on streaming, radio airplay and sales data. After debuting at No. 81 early last month, the hit song has steadily risen through the ranks, climbing to No. 23, then No. 6, No. 4 and No. 2, before finally reaching the highest spot. The track is also the first No. 1 on the Billboard Indonesia Hot 100 chart by any fictional act since the ensemble No. 1 "We Don't Talk About Bruno," which reigned for five weeks in February-March 2022, Billboard added. Earlier this month, "Golden" climbed to No. 1 on the British Official Singles Chart Top 100, which ranks the UK's biggest songs of the week, based on audio and video streams, downloads, CDs and vinyl, compiled by Official Charts Co. It marked the first K-pop act to reach the top position since Psy topped the chart with "Gangnam Style" in 2012. "It represents another landmark moment for the globally dominating South Korean genre," Martin Talbot, chief executive officer of Official Charts, commented in an article published on the company's website on Aug. 1.
Korea Herald
a day ago
- Korea Herald
BTS' Jin wraps up solo concert tour
Jin of BTS concluded his monthslong concert tour in Amsterdam on Sunday local time, according to label Big Hit Music. He traveled to nine cities for 18 shows after kicking the trip off in Seoul in June. 'Don't be too disheartened that (this) tour is coming to an end, since there will be a new beginning with the team,' he told fans at the last show. He made a historic debut as the first Korean artist at The O2 Arena in London and the European leg of the tour alone drew 50,000 people. Meanwhile, he logged 400 million hits on Spotify with solo song 'Don't Say You Love Me.' The single was dropped in May as the focus track from his second solo album 'Echo,' which ranked No. 3 on Billboard 200.
