At the 55th Cannes Film Festival, which ran from May 15-26, Director LIM Kwon-taek was awarded Best Director for his recent film, <Chiwhaseon>. Director LIM Kwon-taek's previous film, <Chunhyang>, was the first Korean film ever to be selected for official competition at Cannes in 2000. Now being Korea's first director to win an award from the prestigious festival, he has become an honored director both at home and across the world. Following its success at Cannes, <Chiwhaseon> has been officially invited to premier at Karlov Vary Int'l Film Festival, New York Int'l Film Festival, and Melbourne Int'l Film Festival.

At the 26th Annecy Animation Festival, which ran from June 3-8, Director LEE Sung-gang's first feature animation, <My Beautiful Girl, Mari>, won the Grand Prix Award in the feature film competition. With history in the making, <My Beautiful Girl, Mari> was Korea's first animation to be officially selected for the world's most prestigious animation festival. By winning the Grand Prix award, it provides a greater momentum for letting the world know about Korean animations. After being released earlier this year, <My Beautiful Girl, Mari> will hit local screens once again in late June. Annecy will also screen the film at the Paris Centre Georges Pompidou theater from June 21-23.

Much-talked about director, BYUN Young-joo, just recently went into production for her feature debut with actress KIM Yoon-jin to play the starring role. In <Mil-ae>'s story of "passionate romance," BYUN Young-joo will depict the secret emotions and desires inherent in one woman's typical everyday life through the eyes of a female director. The story is about a typical housewife, who coincidently discovers that her husband is having an affair, and later releases her angst by fulfilling her desires through a man named Gyu whom she meets. After KIM Yoon-jin made her debut in the action thriller <Shiri>, and most recently, the comedy <Iron Palm> and the SciFi blockbuster <Yesterday>, she goes through a transformation as an actress after becoming the star of a romance in which she plays a housewife named Mee-hon. As much as the makers of <Mil-ae> are a female director, female producer, and female executive producer, they said they will not make any compromises to the world as the film will show a woman's justified philander.




<Take care of my cat>


<Asako in Ruby Shoes>,<Kick the Moon>,<Last Present>,<Public Enemy>,<The Last Witness>


<Road Movie><Running Blue>


<Take care of my cat>


<Take care of my cat>


<My beautiful girl, Mari>



  <My beautiful girl, Mari>   France (Editions M)
  <Take Care of My Cat>   UK (Millennium Film Distribution),
  Singapore (Media Corp),US (Kino International)
  <Elysium>   Russia (Ruscico),Thailand (Nontanund Ent)
  <Say Yes>   Germany (Anolis)
  <Volcano High>   France (CTV International),Israel (Dream Ent),
  Singapore (Media Corp),Brazil (China Video)
  <Chiwhaseon>   France (Pathe),Europe (Wild Bunch)
  <Ducky the Perky>   Thailand (MJC Ent)
  <Lexa>   Thailand (MJC Ent)
  <Public Enemy>   Thailand (Tiga), Singapore (Media Corp)
  <Surprise Party>   Thailand (Tiga)
  <No Blood No Tears>   Thailand (Tiga)
  <Marriage is a Crazy Thing>   Thailand (Tiga)
  <Turning Gate>   Thailand (Tiga), Japan (Bitters End)
  <My Beautiful Days>   Thailand (Tiga)
  <Jungle Juice>   Thailand (Tiga)
  <The Last Witness>   Singapore (Media Corp),
  Thailand (Nontanund Ent)
  <Funny Movie>   Thailand (Nontanund Ent)
  <Bichunmoo>   Brazil (China Video)
  <Glass Shoes(TV Drama)>   Indonesia (PT Warna Picture Boxindo)
  <Golden Age(TV Drama)>   China (Nuvo Film)



On a morning of her boyfriend Jung-woo's arrival from abroad, Mi-ryung tries to prepare a little surprise party for his return. When faced with her father's disapproval to throw the party, she calls on her best friend Ha-young for help. She asks Ha-young to spend 12 hours with her boyfriend while she prepares the act and persuades her father to approve of her boyfriend. As Ha-young is forced into spending time with her best friend's boyfriend out of nowhere, she begins to sense growing affection toward him amidst a dozen happenings. A romantic comedy based on innocent affection for a friend's boyfriend.

An unemployed 30-year old loser HU Bong-goo (KIM Seung-woo) still reaches into his parents' pockets for money. One day, he is left with just 300 won ( 3 cents) when he is utterly exhausted from his army reserves training, with which Bong-goo decides to buys a cheap lighter. Whether by coincidence or by fortune, he leaves the only thing he owns in this world, the precious lighter, at the bathroom of Seoul Station and leaves.

Later, when Bong-goo goes back to retrieve it, he finds the lighter in the hand of a gang boss named YANG Chul-goon (CHA Seung-won). Bong-goo tries to take back his lighter, but ends up getting beaten up in the act. Determined to get his lighter back, Bong-goo hops on the train headed for Busan after Chul-goon. It was just one request that he made, "If it's okay with you, I'd like my lighter back." From this moment on, HU Bong-goo and YANG Chul-goon get involved in a grueling fight over their macho self-esteem.