YEONGHWA: KOREAN FILM TODAY, A WEEKLONG EXHIBITION OF INNOVATIVE NEW KOREAN CINEMA

Yeonghwa: Korean Film Today September 22–30, 2010 The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters

NEW YORK, August 25, 2010— Yeonghwa: Korean Film Today, a series of new Korean films presented by MoMA and the Korea Society will be shown September 22 through 30, 2010 at the Museum of Modern Art. Among the eight films, many of which New York premieres, is The Housemaid (2010), Im Sang-soo‟s erotic thriller about a domestic helper's revenge after her affair with the master goes sour. A favorite at Cannes, The Housemaid, which was recently acquired by IFC Films and is slated for release early next year, will premiere at MoMA on September 22, directly following it‟s screening at the Toronto International Film Festival. Im Sang-soo will introduce the film. Other highlights include Boo Si-Young‟s Sisters on the Road (2008), her first film, which follows two estranged half-sisters who develop a relationship while searching for their father; and Land of Scarecrows (2008), by Roh Gyeon-tae, one of Korea‟s most „experimental‟ filmmakers, which examines national and gender identity. “Yeonghwa” is the Korean word for film. Featured in every major international film festival, Korean cinema has become a thriving industry. The technical excellence, the wide variety of styles and subjects, the idiosyncrasies of individual expression within the perimeters of genre, the general practice of filmmakers both writing and directing their work, the development of a consistent home-grown „star‟ system for both actors and filmmakers, and its free-wheeling entrepreneurial spirit have helped to distinguish Korean film as a truly unique cinematic form. Korean cinema, shot in a language barely understood outside the country of its origin, is an art and industry generally made for a national audience. Therefore the integrity of the artistic vision is, for the most part, unaffected by the demands of a global film market, providing a revealing window into a culture that for many Americans has seemed inaccessible. Yeonghwa: Korean Film Today is co-organized by Laurence Kardish, Senior Curator, The Museum of Modern Art, and Yuni Yoonjung Cho, Director, Film, The Korea Society, with the help of the Korean Film Council.

This exhibition is made possible by HyundaiCard Company.

Press Contact: D‟Arcy Drollinger, (212) 708-9747, [email protected]

For downloadable images, please visit www.moma.org/press.

Public Information: The Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019 Hours: Films are screened Wednesday-Monday. For screening schedules, please visit www.moma.org.

Film Admission: $10 adults; $8 seniors, 65 years and over with I.D. $6 full-time students with current I.D. (For admittance to film programs only.) The price of a film ticket may be applied toward the price of a Museum admission ticket when a film ticket stub is presented at the Lobby Information Desk within 30 days of the date on the stub (does not apply during Target Free Friday Nights, 4:00–8:00 p.m.). Admission is free for Museum members and for Museum ticketholders.

The public may call (212) 708-9400 for detailed Museum information. Visit us at www.moma.org

Screening Schedule

Yeonghwa: Korean Film Today September 22–30, 2010

Wednesday, September 22

6:30 The Housemaid. 2010. Written and directed by Im Sang-soo. Freely adapted from Ki-young‟s 1960 film of the same title, With Jeon Do-yeon, Lee Jung-jae, Seo Woo, Yun Yeo-jung. And what a house the maid has to clean - the largest film set ever built in Korea. But that‟s the least of it. The family she has to serve demands attention in many ways, not all of them in her job description. This continuously surprising erotic melodrama about class and privilege features both a top notch cast including Jeon Do-yeon of “Secret Sunshine”, and a climax that won‟t be easily forgotten. 95min. Courtesy of IFC Films. New York Premiere.

Thursday, September 23

4:30 The Housemaid. (See Wednesday, September 22.)

7:30 Good Morning Mr. President. 2009. Written and directed by Jin. With Lee Soon- jae, Jang Dong-gun, Koh Doo-sim, Im Ha-ryong. A delicious rumination about power and decision making that takes place largely in the executive kitchen. The settings and political relationships are as Korean as kimchee, but the pacing and domestic relationships are as American as apple pie. Jang Jin‟s film about three successive presidents is as winning as the best of Frank Capra. 132 min.

Friday, September 24

4:30 Good Morning Mr. President. (See Thursday, September 23.)

7:30 . 2008. Written and directed by Yoo Ha. With Zo In-sung, Joo Jin-mo, Song Ji-hyo. History tells of the 31st king of the Koryo Dynasty who had his queen but loved his bodyguard, a brave and noble soldier. However, in order to maintain his dynasty, the king had to produce an heir. Keeping it all in the family he does, but… A spectacular epic about power, passion, and their lethal intertwinement. 133 min. New York Premiere.

Saturday, September 25

1:00 Woochi. 2009. Written and directed by Choi Dong-hoon. With Gang Dong-won, Kim Yoon- suk, Lim Soo-jung, Yoo Hae-jin. A whizz-bang time-travelling comic fantasy about a Taoist wizard trapped in a scroll in 1509 who in 2009 must be freed to capture (as only he can) a gaggle of evil goblins wrecking havoc in . Directed with such verve and panache, WOOCHI has one believing again in magicians and monsters.110 min. New York Premiere.

3:30 Sisters on the Road. 2008. Written and directed by Boo Ji-young. With Kong Hyo-jin, Shin Min-a. A first film by a young woman filmmaker chronicles a road trip across Korea.

Two half-sisters, each very different and quite testy with the other, travel together reluctantly in search of their errant father and develop an uneasy relationship. 96 min. Boo Ji-young will introduce the film.

6:00 Eighteen. 2010. Written and directed by Jang Kun-Jae. With Seo Jun-yeong, Lee Min-ji. In Korean the title of this realist debut feature is “whirlwind”, which describes the parental thwarting of a romance between two eighteen-year old students who can hardly wait until they turn nineteen, legal age in Korea. The filmmaker dedicates his film “to my high school years..Rest in peace, teenage years.” 95 min. New York Premiere.

8:15 Best Seller. 2010. Written and directed by Lee Jeong-ho. A first feature that‟s a first-rate thriller. A successful writer, accused of plagiarism, suffers a breakdown, and after a period of time, rents an unoccupied house remote in the countryside for her and her young daughter who “befriends” a presence there. Her new „friend‟ tells her stories which she tells her mother. Her mother writes them down, and, as in any good spooky tale, bad things happen and Hollywood has already come knocking on the front door of this haunted house. 120 min. New York Premiere.

Sunday, September 26

2:00 A Frozen Flower (See Friday, September 24.)

4:30 Land of Scarecrows. 2008. Written and directed by Roh Gyeon-tae. With Kim Sun- young, Phuong Thi Bich, Jun Du-won. A transgender installation artist in search of a bride travels to the Philippines and finds one. Back in Korea a young man who believes he was once adopted from the Philippines enters the couple‟s lives, and questions of national and gender identity come to the fore in this austere sophomore feature by one of Korea‟s most „experimental‟ filmmakers. 90 min. New York Premiere.

Monday, September 27

4:30 Sisters on the Road (See Saturday, September 25.)

Wednesday, September 29

4:30 Best Seller (See Saturday, September 25.)

7:30 Land of Scarecrows (See Saturday, September 25.)

Thursday, September 30

4:30 Eighteen (See Thursday, July 8.)

7:30 Woochi (See Saturday, September 25.)