The short film “Ghost,” directed by Lee Jung-Jin (a.k.a. Ma Dahci), has been selected for the Short Film Competition of the 64th Cannes Film Festival. “Ghost” is a 10-minute thriller about a criminal hiding in an empty house in a deserted town where gentrification has been discontinued. “Ghost” by Lee Jung-jin The Short Film Competition is an official competition category that highlights young...

Canadian director brings film about artists with Down syndrome to Women’s Film Festival Canadian animation director Shira Avni makes films that are “in between genres.” “Animated documentaries don’t fit into doc festivals, nor do they fit into anime festivals,” Avni told The Korea Herald in Seoul last week. “But they get invited to both.” Her 2009 animated documentary, “Trying Your Own Shoes,”...

Norwegian Wood Opening April 21 Drama. Directed by Tran Anh Hung. Upon hearing The Beatles’ song “Norwegian Wood,” a Japanese businessman reminisces about the intense romance of his university days in Tokyo, set against the turbulent student riots of the late 1960s. Toru Watanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama), an aloof university student at the time, had lost Kizuki -- his best friend in high school -- a...

Horror movie fans haven’t had much to scream about lately, but that may be about to change. With “Scream 4,” which opens Friday, director Wes Craven pumps fresh blood into his landmark horror franchise set in the not-so-sleepy town of Woodsboro, Calif. Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette, veterans of the three previous “Scream” movies, return along with original writer Kevin William...

In the new thriller “Source Code,” Michelle Monaghan plays a Chicago woman described by the Jake Gyllenhaal character as “beautiful,” “decent” and “honest.” Beauty comes cheap in the movies. Hollywood boasts an eternally full quota of attractive nuisances, the nuisance part (separate from the beauty part) being the expressive limitations of those who achieve stardom without really having much sta...

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Movie-goers flocked to see what is billed as the world’s first 3-D porn film as it opened to packed cinemas across Hong Kong on Thursday, with some screenings selling out completely. Loosely based on a piece of classical Chinese erotic literature, the $3.2-million Cantonese-language movie “3-D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy“ features orgies, swinging and some very graphic sex sc...

Shortly after she received an Oscar nomination at the tender age of 13, “Atonement” star Saoirse Ronan needed a new movie. Despite a drama background, she was intrigued by the title character in “Hanna,” an ethereally beautiful teen who also happens to be a ruthless assassin. But the project was stuck in development at Focus Features; filmmakers like Danny Boyle had come and gone. Ronan had a si...

In Love and the War (Korea) Opening April 28 Drama. Comedy. Directed by Park Geon-yong. Just about two months ahead of the Korean War, a young communist military officer (Kim Joo-hyeok) and his soldiers arrive in a secluded country town in Chungcheong Province. Amid the intense political turmoil, the town, Seokjeong-ri, is peaceful. It is so remote that its people don’t even take the war rumor ...

If you have fond memories of the 1981 comedy “Arthur,” that says a couple of things about you. One, you’ve been around for at least 40 years, and two, you’re probably curious about the remake, which arrives in theaters Friday. Much has changed since Dudley Moore first appeared as Arthur Bach, the merrily alcoholic heir to a family fortune who must agree to an arranged marriage or forfeit his mil...

PARIS (AFP) ― South Korean director Bong Joon-ho will chair the jury that picks the winner of the Camera d’Or prize for best first film at this year’s Cannes film festival, organizers said on Thursday. Bong, 41, whose films include “Barking Dog,” “Memories of Murder” and “The Host,” is no stranger to Cannes, having premiered his most recent feature “Mother” in its Un Certain Regard section in 20...

Korean actress Yoon Jeong-hee, the heroine of “Poetry,” received a French cultural order on Tuesday, according to the French Ministry of Culture and Communication. Yoon was awarded “Officier dans l’ordre des Arts et Lettres,” the second-highest French order, in recognition of her performance for the award-winning film by director Lee Chang-dong. The Korean actress had earlier been linked to rec...

Rarely are Italian movies shown in Korea, yet Italian cinema offers some of the best entertainment. To highlight one of Europe’s proudest industries, the Italian Cultural Institute, the cultural wing of the embassy, is holding their annual movie festival throughout this month. “We believe that the Korean public is young, curious and mature, and ready to welcome what foreign cultures have to off...

Director Lee Hyuk-sang debuts Korea’s first gay documentary Smart, eloquent and bubbly, director Lee Hyuk-sang loves being himself. “My whole worldview changed as I found out about my sexual orientation,” said Lee, who is gay. “I got to see so many things that I didn’t get to see before. And I am proud of it.” Lee’s debut film, “Miracle on Jongno Street,” is the first-ever gay-themed document...

Actress Kim Hye-soo has broken up with her boyfriend Yu Hae-jin, their agencies confirmed Monday. The romantic relationship between the 41-year-old stars was revealed last January when they were spotted on a secret date at night. The agencies said the two actors are no longer in a relationship, but didn’t elaborate on when and why they ended it. (Kim Hye-soo and Yu Hae-jin) “As news reports o...