Story of Oh: Revival of Madame Freedom at KAFFNY 2011

Madame Freedom (1956) - Han

Context is everything. Picture this, this film was made only three years after the end of the Korean War which devastated the country. The literal translation of the title- Madame Freedom doesn't really carry the sexual connotation of the Korean one. This domestic melodrama of a comely housewife of a stoic professor having (an) extramarital affair(s) has no nudity, not much sexual innuendo (unless you count skate waltz as one) and only some well orchestrated smooches, but this was the fifties in Korea! Scandalous!

Swooping dolly shots and crane shots are pretty impressive actually, comparable to any Japanese film in that era. there are some delicious dance numbers at the dance hall. Kim Jeong-rim's Mrs. Oh, with her wide face with tiny features is the typical Korean beauty and fits well in the role of conflicted naive woman of changing times. This simple morality tale was surprisingly progressive and quite good.

It's a pity because Madame Freedom showed the great potential of the Korean cinema to come (there are similarities with Japanese New Wave) in the 60s through 80s . If it wasn't for military government's censorship, the Korean cinema in that era could've produced world class cinema. Too bad.

*This was the KAFFNY 2011's Opening Night Selection with live score by DJ Spooky with cellist Okkyung Lee, violinist Sean Lee and electric violinist Eugene Park. Interesting experiment commissioned by Korean digital art center Nabi.

For more information, please check out KAFFNY website

Korean Diaspora: Dai sil Kim-Gibson Retrospective at KAFFNY 2011

KAFFNY 2011 is hosting the first retrospective of Dai sil Kim-Gibson, the pioneering Korean woman documentary filmmaker as a part of their 5th Annual film festival. Varied in length, 5 of her docs feature Korean experiences overseas. Anthropological, yet highly personal in her approach, her films always examine the human cost of such dislocations and give voices to the voiceless.
She will be at the panel discussion The LA Riots 19 Years Later at the festival with the acclaimed African American director and her frequent collaborator Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep, To Sleep with Anger).

Both Sa-I-Gu and Wet Sand tell the aftermath of the LA Riots from Korean women's perspectives. Filmed ten years apart, these films re-examines the meaning of American Dream. The title Sa-I-Gu refers to the date (4/29) of the LA Riots in 1992, when much of the South Central LA was engulfed in flames after the acquittal of 4 white police officers whose beating of Rodney King was caught on tape. Many of the Korean businesses were burned to the ground while Bel-Air was protected by the National Guards. Filmed not long after the riot, Sa-I-Gu tells how the media portrayed the riots as borne out of Korean American vs. African American feud, totally ignoring decades of neglect in the poverty and violence stricken South Central. Many who were interviewed feel disillusioned about American Dream. If anything, Korean American community have become more class conscious.

Motherland finds Kim-Gibson in Cuba where there are healthy number of Korean-Cubans. During her stay with a retired Korean-Cuban female professor of Pedagogy, the matriarch of a large family and of the same age as Kim-Gibson, the filmmaker reflects on her own rootlessness, her increasing alienation from the US- her capitalist/imperialist adopted homeland.

Then there is Silence Broken/Korean Comfort Women. A searing documentary about Korean women's sexual servitude under Japanese army in WWII. With compelling interviews and testimonies, it tells how one woman came forward to break the silence after 60 years.

For more information and tickets, please visit Dai sil Kim-Gibson Retrospective at KAFFNY 2011

5th Annual Korean American Film Festival Preview

*Programmer of KAFFNY 2011 Hosik Kim in front of Chelsea Cinema on 23rd Street, Manhattan

In its fifth year, the 2011 Korean American Film Festival New York (KAFFNY) is bigger than ever. While mainly showcasing films that illustrate Korean American experiences, this year's program is as diverse as it is ambitious in its scope. Highlights include the first ever retrospective of Dai-sil Kim-Gibson - the pioneering Korean woman documentary filmmaker, Psychohydrography - a high-res 15,000 still image experimental film by Peter Bo Rappmund, Red Chapel - a Danish mock-doc comedy in North Korea, and The Boat - a Korean-Japanese co-production making its international premiere. There is an outstanding assortment of short films, too. For its opening night, they are reviving the Korean classic Madame Freedom (1956) with live music accompaniment by DJ Spooky. The festival runs March 17-20th.

For more information and tickets, please check out KAFFNY website