The 10th edition of the Korean Film Festival in Brussels came to an end on Friday, 7 September, with the screening of the film Hommage at the Cinéma Galeries. Over the 9 days of the festival, about 2,000 spectators attended the screening of 18 classic, as well as previously unreleased films from the Korean repertoire at BOZAR and Cinéma Galeries.
Korean culture has made a spectacular breakthrough in the last decade and has become part of popular culture, thanks to Oscar-winning films like Parasite, the K-pop culture and intriguing series like Squid Game. Nevertheless, a whole part of this kaleidoscopic culture is still unknown to the general public. The film festival was determined to help the public discover new horizons.
It was such a great experience to watch the movie with the audience here. They understood the humour and laughed a lot, it was amazing.
Byun Gyu-ri, director of Coming to You
“We believe that the diversity and dynamics that Korean films have shown you will be the future of cinema. Thank you for your support and participation. See you next year!”, said Kim Jaehwan, Director of the Korean Cultural Centre in Belgium and the European Union at the closing of the festival.
This year, special emphasis was placed on women in Korean cinema, shedding light on the work and place of women in the Korean film industry. The public had the opportunity to interact with directors Hong Sung-eun (Aloners) and Byun Gyu-ri (Coming to You), who were specially invited to the screening of their films on October 5 and 6.
“Although Coming to You has already met the international audience, it was the first time that I have come to an overseas film festival and met the audience in person. It was an honour to be here on behalf of everyone who participated in the filmmaking. In addition, it was such a great experience to watch the movie with the audience here. They understood the humour and laughed a lot, it was amazing. Thank you to the Korean Film Festival Belgium for giving me this opportunity. I will never forget this experience”, said Byun Gyu-ri director of Coming to You.
The festival will now head to Luxembourg where it will be hosted on October 27 and 28 at Ciné Utopia and the Cinémathèque de Luxembourg.
