SPOTLIGHT ON: Korean Cinema on the Fast Track

Gene Siskel Film Center: Korean Cinema on the Fast Track

164 North State Street
Chicago, IL 60601-3505
(312) 846-2800

From April 30 through June 3, the Gene Siskel Film Center in partnership with the Consulate General of Korea in Chicago, and in cooperation with the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), presents the series Korean Cinema on the Fast Track. Ten recent films, ranging from sophisticated comedies to gangster dramas, showcase the South Korean film industry’s continuing creative explosion.


It’s barely been ten years since films including MEMENTO MORI, BARKING DOGS NEVER BITE, and OASIS, representing a contemporary resurgence of Korean cinema, began making their presence known at international film festivals and winning prizes. Critics quickly took notice of the fact that these new Korean films were smart, daring, and often on the cutting edge of pop culture.


Hollywood took notice, too, with companies including DreamWorks purchasing remake rights for many films for which, sadly, the original versions would never be seen on U.S. screens. The success in the U.S. of films including THE HOST, OLDBOY, 3-IRON, LADY VENGEANCE, THIRST, and most recently MOTHER, and the cult status of directors including Hong Sang-soo, a School of the Art Institute of Chicago graduate, proves that American audiences are developing a taste for this unique national cinema.

For more information on this exciting film series, check out:

http://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/koreancinema