KOFIC USA To Host A Panel Discussion
On Remaking Korean Movies in Hollywood

 
The Korean Film Council (KOFIC USA), in partnership with Korean Cinematheque, will be hosting the first annual Korean Film Festival in Los Angeles (KOFFLA) from Nov. 15 to Nov. 18.   Sponsored by the Korea Times and the Hollywood Reporter, KOFFLA will have this theme for its inaugural year: "It's Alive: Korean Film Genre Hybrids and Hollywood Remakes."
 
In addition to the more than 15 films being screened at the Fairfax 3 Theaters, KOFFLA 2007 will feature a Nov. 15 panel discussion on the viability of Korean films as potential material for Hollywood remakes.   In production already are 3films, including "My Sassy Girl," and they will follow last year's Keanu Reeves-Sandra Bullock romance "Lake House."   Plus, the rights to more than 10 other Korean movies have been purchased by American studios.  But with Korean cinema's dynamic mixing of different genres, like blending a horror with a comedy, more of these movies, including the features in this year's festival, can transcend language and borders and be translated for American as well as worldwide audiences by a visionary filmmaker.  
 
On hand to discuss the phenomenon of importing and remaking Korean movies will be Zak Kadison, vice president of production at Fox Atomic and a producer on the remake of "My Sassy Girl"; Jonathan Kim of Dain Pictures, which produced the hit Korean films "Silmido" and "To Catch a Virgin Ghost", and Vertigo Entertainment's Roy Lee, who has been behind many of the recent remakes from Asia, from "The Ring" and "The Departed" to "The Lake House."  The panel will be moderated by David Alpert of management and production company Circle of Confusion, and is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. on Nov. 15 at the Fairfax 3 Theaters.
 
KOFIC USA, with this conference, hopes to foster opportunities for American filmmakers to remake Korean movies here in Hollywood and to help develop relationships that might lead to a Korean-American co-production.   KOFIC was established in 1976 by South Korea's Ministry of Culture and Tourism to promote the country's film industry. Initially founded as the Korean Motion Pictures Promotion Corporation (KMPPC), KOFIC started endorsing films under its current name in 1999. Since then, KOFIC's objective has been to increase the awareness and appreciation of Korean films by promoting the development of both Korean and Korean American films. Its achievements include the Filmmakers Development Lab (FDL), a Korean film database, and various film festivals and screenings. In 2007, KOFIC launched its first U.S. branch office, KOFIC USA, in Los Angeles.
 
For more information, go to the website www.koffla.org