FEATURE
Ghost Sweepers
Perfect Number
Eungyo Selling Seoul
While North America continues to be a difficult market for Korean films to crack and Asia presents challenges because of the strength of Hollywood and local films, Europe continues to offer lively prospects. Liz Shackleton reports
But with high production values and global recog- nition for certain genres, directors and stars, Korean fi lms continue to sell steadily on the global market. North America continues to be one of the tough-
L
est markets to crack, while Europe generates steady business and Asia is becoming more diffi cult due to the strength of Hollywood and local fi lms. “The US market is getting tougher for commer- cial fi lms, though if you have a strong genre, you can usually sell to video and VoD,” says Finecut CEO Youngjoo Suh. “Arthouse fi lms with a well- known director are slightly easier, but I believe we need to develop co-productions with the US to penetrate that market.”
Suh adds that the European market is surpris- ingly lively, with more than half the titles she sells receiving a theatrical release. Asia is a different story — while Korean pop music and TV dramas remain popular across the region, Korean movies have to compete with the growing strengths of local product. Korean films have recently seen encouraging box-offi ce numbers in the booming Chinese market, though it remains diffi cult for for- eign sales companies to share in that success. Meanwhile, the Japanese market has still not fully recovered. “Japan used to pay big MGs for Korean movies, but their market has been affected by last year’s earthquake and economic problems,” says Showbox head of international business Judy Ahn. “They still have the DVD market but these days they tend to concentrate on Western product.” However, statistics compiled by the Korean Film
ike other sales companies around the world handling foreign-language fare, Korean sell- ers face challenges in today’s tough market.
lowed by Europe with 22.2% and North America with 10.5%. Hot sellers over the past year have included
high-concept fi lms such as Finecut’s Hello Ghost and Showbox’s war movie The Front Line, which sold to the US and Europe. Concert fi lms featuring Korean pop stars, such as M-Line Distribution’s 2AM Show, sold strongly to Asian territories. Korea’s name directors rather than stars tend to
drive sales overseas — last year Finecut scored a raft of sales on Park Chan-wook’s Night Fishing and Kim Ki-duk’s Cannes title Arirang, which sold to Rapid Eye in Germany and Punto Zero in Italy among other territories. One of Korea’s biggest exports last year, also handled by Finecut, was animated feature Leafi e, A Hen Into The Wild, which was dubbed and given a wide release in Italy, Russia, France and other territories. The fi lm also performed well in its home market, where it was released by Lotte and grossed a respectable $12.9m.
At Cannes this year, CJ E&M will be focusing on Korean pop feature I Am: SM Town Live, disaster movie Deranged and romantic thriller Perfect Number from female direc- tor Bang Eun-jin. Showbox is screening a promo of pan-Asian heist drama The Thieves, while Lotte has hit romantic drama Archi- tecture 101 heading its slate.
Finecut and Daisy & Cinergy both have titles in Cannes selection, as well as mainstream productions, while
Council (KOFIC) are more encouraging than anec- M-Line has sci-fi drama Doomsday dotal evidence. According to KOFIC, export fi gures for Korean fi lms went up for the fi rst time in fi ve years in 2011, with completed fi lms bringing in rev- enue of $15.8m, up 16.5% compared with 2010. Asia accounted for 56.9% of sales business, fol-
s ■ 48 Screen International at Cannes May 19, 2012
Book. 9ers Entertainment is focusing on Miss Conspirator, scheduled for Korean release in June, and Mirovision will be introducing works from several young up-and-coming directors.
In Another Country
‘The US market is getting tougher for commercial films’
Youngjoo Suh, Finecut
Hot projects CANNES COMPETITION
In Another Country Dir Hong Sang-soo
Cannes regular Hong Sang-soo returns to the Croisette with In Another Country. It tells the story of three women, all named Anne, and all played by French actress Isabelle Huppert. Hong has previ- ously had four fi lms in Un Certain Regard, one in Directors’ Fortnight and two in Competition, mak- ing him the Korean director with the most fi lms shown in Cannes. His last title to appear in Cannes Competition was Tale Of Cinema in 2005. Contact Finecut, Youngjoo Suh
cineinfo@finecut.co.kr
The Taste Of Money Dir Im Sang-soo
A tale of sex, greed and ambi- tion in an upper-class Korean family, Im’s Com- petition title is based on the same themes — and some of the same characters — as his last film The Housemaid, which screened in Cannes Competition in 2010. The cast includes veteran actress Youn Yuh-jung (The Housemaid), young heartthrob Kim Kang- woo, Baek Yoon-sik (The President’s Last Bang) and Kim Hyo-jin (Five Senses Of Eros).
Contact Daisy & Cinergy,
Erica Nam ericanam628@
gmail.com
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