Ngô Phương Lan, the executive director of DANAFF, along with director Kang Jae-kyu, director Jang Joon-hwan and actress Moon So-ri (right to left) join the audiences at the screening. Photo courtesy of DANAFF

ĐÀ NẴNG — 'Focus on Korea Cinema', a curated programme featuring 14 free screenings of Korean films at the third Đà Nẵng Asian Film Festival (DANAFF III), has begun with the film The Gingko Bed directed by Kang Jae-kyu.

Deputy Director of the Đà Nẵng Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hà Vỹ remarked on Monday: "The family and social themes depicted in Korean cinema and the portrayal of human sentiments are very close to Vietnamese cinema, especially through high-quality films. Korean cinema has become a highly successful industry, a model that Vietnamese cinema aspires to follow."

Choi Young Sam, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Việt Nam, said: "It is a great honour for me that we have the opportunity to enjoy a film by director Kang Jae-kyu, a filmmaker who has made major contributions to Korean popular cinema. I hope that people in both Korea and Việt Nam will continue to have more opportunities to understand one another and grow closer."

A scene from 'The Gingko Bed' (1996). Photo courtesy of Shin Cine Communications

The Gingko Bed tells the story of Soohyun, a stone sculptor and university lecturer who lives a peaceful life with his partner Sunyoung, a surgeon. Everything changes when he buys an old gingko wood bed at a flea market, unknowingly awakening a love story that transcends time. 

The film won Best New Director and Best Actress at the 1996 Grand Bell Awards. It also received three awards at the 1996 Blue Dragon Film Awards, including Best New Director, and won Best Cinematography at the 1996 Baeksang Arts Awards.

Director Kang Jae-kyu said: "This film was made a long time ago, and many memories have faded, but I'm very happy to be here again watching it with the audience. Besides my film, there are many works by renowned filmmakers, like Park Kwang-su and Jang Joon-hwan, who are attending DANAFF this year. I hope everyone will enjoy their films as well."

As part of DANAFF III’s 'South Korean Cinema in Focus' initiative, 14 iconic films spanning from 1960 to 2024 will be screened for free.

The line-up includes two films ranked among the Top 10 Greatest South Korean Films of All Time by the Korean Film Archive (KOFA) in 2024, including The Housemaid (1960) by Kim Ki-young, which ranked first, and Aimless Bullet (1961) by Yu Hyun-mok, which ranked fourth.

The Housemaid follows the unravelling of a piano composer’s household after he hires a maid to assist his pregnant wife, leading to unforeseen tension and chaos within the family.

Screen Rant writes that Aimless Bullet "artfully blends expressionist and neorealist styles within a grimly introspective portrait of a nation left shattered by hatred and fear, touching on everything from military prostitution and economic inequality to the exploitations of the film industry itself."

A scene in 'Painted Fire' (2002). Photo courtesy of Taehung Pictures

Three films from Korean director Im Kwon-taek, who was granted the Film Achievement Award in DANAFF III, are also being screened, including Seopyeonje (1993), Chunhyang (2000) and Painted Fire (2002).

Filmgoers will also have the rare chance to watch early works by some of South Korea’s most significant contemporary filmmakers, including The Day a Pig Fell Into the Well by Hong Sang-soo and Barking Dogs Never Bite by Bong Joon-ho.

This special screening series is curated and presented by DANAFF III in collaboration with the Korean Cultural Centre in Việt Nam, the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) and the Korean Film Archive (KOFA). 

Audiences can follow the screening schedule on DANAFF's website. — VNS