The first film directed by Busan International Film Festival’s founding director has been invited to the non-competition section of the upcoming Berlinale, according to its production house.

Kim Dong-ho, who is considered one of the pioneer figures in Korean film history, currently serves as the honorary chief of BIFF. He made his directing debut last month during Korea’s Asiana International Short Film Festival, with his short titled “Jury.” The film premiered as the festival’s opener.

An account of jury members at a film festival getting into conflicts with each other, the film is written by highly acclaimed Korean-Chinese director Zhang Lu. Zhang wrote the script based on his own experience as a jury member during the 2010 edition of AISFF. 

“Apparently director Zhang got into a lot of conflicts with his fellow jury member, director Bae Chang-ho, while evaluating the films,” Kim told The Korea Herald during an interview last year, when he was preparing for the film.

“So he wanted to make a film about that. And since everyone knew I’d always wanted to direct a film, director Zhang decided to give it to me.”

Kim, who served as BIFF’s founding director for 15 years, retired from the position in 2010. He is known for his networking skills and diplomatic maneuvers, who “has never failed to convince anyone on anything.” His long-time friends in the film scene appear in the film as main characters, including veteran actor Ahn Sung-ki and actress Kang Soo-yeon. A number of filmmakers also participated in the project, including “Late Autumn” director Kim Tae-yong and “Moss” and “Silmido” director Kang Woo-suk.

The film was also featured at Seoul Independent Film Festival shortly after AISFF.
By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)