The 19th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) was held from October 2 through October 11, 2014. Dankook University’s Graduate School of Cinematic Contents (DGC), already widely recognized for its art works released in various domestic and international film festivals including BIFF, announced itself as the cradle for film professionals by winning awards and participating in a wide variety of activities during the festival.
▶ ‘End of Winter’ won the New Currents award at the Busan International Film Festival
The feature film produced by second-term students of Dankook University’s Graduate School of Cinematic Contents, ‘End of Winter’ (directed by Kim Dae Hwan), won the New Currents Award by a unanimous vote at the 19th BIFF. The New Currents Award is given to the two best feature films selected from works of new Asian directors.
Given the clutch of the KNN Movie award and FIPRESCI award, earned by ‘10 Minutes,’ the previous feature from the school, Dankook University's Graduate School of Cinematic Contents was honored again this year, winning festival awards in two consecutive years.
The story of ‘End of Winter’ begins as a high school teacher abruptly retires, prompting a modest ceremony which is attended by his immediate family. During the event, he announces that he intends to divorce his wife, which comes as a surprise to his brood. This family drama portrays concerns arise from the gap between being an individual and being a family member at the same time in the modern society.
“‘End of Winter’ boasts strong performances and an admirably restrained yet intelligent mis-en-scene, and the director Kim demonstrated his ability to tell a family story in his unique style,” the judges evaluated the film.
▶ Chinese actress Tang Wei delivered an eloquent speech for the students of the Graduate School of Cinematic Contents
During the film festival, Chinese superstar Tang Wei gave a special lecture to the students of Dankook University’s Graduate School of Cinematic Contents on the topic of acting and directing.
This dreamlike lecture on October 3rd was realized by her husband, Tae Yong Kim, a full professor at Dankook’s Graduate School of Cinematic Contents, while Prof. Kim and his students were practicing a field exercise at the festival.
Prof. Kim explained, “I arranged this lecture in response to Tang Wei’s interests in the school and its films.”
“I’m so nervous because this is my first time talking about acting to a group of students,” Tang Wei said during the lecture. She expressed her attitude toward acting: “Once the filming is started, I don’t even meet my family and friends to fully concentrate on the character.”
Tang Wei sincerely communicated with the students throughout the lecture and the students responded magnificently to her speech as well as the confectionery gifts that she brought from China.