Hidden Figures [or Found Gems!] at London Korean Film Festival 2019

Sometimes, just sometimes…

Yes, sometimes, we get word of a film or season of films, or indeed mini-series of movies in advance of a perhaps official announcement.

This is such a scenario, although all is well and truly out in the open now. In fact, and in some ways, this announcement did come from the correct source albeit not the one WE* may expect.

*The collective ‘we’ is those of us, or you, who are particularly into a certain type or kind of cinema… and by that I mean Asian cinema, or maybe more specifically, Korean cinema.

So, what am I alluding to here?

Well… a couple of months ago, or towards the end of Summer, an email went out from the Barbican to [obviously?!] those who subscribe to such a mailing list. That email stated “New on sale – Hidden Figures: Euzhan Palcy and Ha Gil-jong“…

I can’t recall when I read the email in full or indeed whether I, at some point simply scanned it with my eyes, but I noticed “Ha Gil-jong” and started to check it out!

A little over a week after that notification from the Barbican an email went out from the KCCUK (Korean Cultural Centre, London/UK) and all was revealed… again!

It clearly states [well… in the small print in the Barbican event article] the following:

“Our Hidden Figures programme showcases great directors who we believe deserve far greater recognition in the UK. Co-curated by the Barbican & the London Korean Film Festival, supported by the Korean Film Archive.”

Before, I too reveal what this mini-season at Barbican or segment of the LKFF 2019 is, I will state that fans of the classic Korean film “The March of Fools” are in for a treat, because it’s one of the 3 included. Indeed, folk who missed it a couple of years ago at the KCCUK [as part of another mini-season] have the chance of seeing it in a more comfortable venue – The Barbican cinema seats are much better than the chairs currently used over at the KCCUK!

On with the “Copy & Paste” show!

(taken from Mini Mini’s LKFF Full Schedule article – ultimately taken from the KCCUK/LKFF’s Press Release)

“Presented by the LKFF in conjunction with the Barbican’s Hidden Figures film programme, this celebration of renowned director Ha Gil-jong shines a light on the work of one of Korean cinema’s most iconoclastic auteurs. Rising to prominence in the 1970s, a dark period for Korean filmmaking as the Park Chung-hee led government exerted its control through strict censorship, Ha Gil-jong stood out with a radical, politically-charged voice, challenging contemporary society through the language of film.

The Pollen of Flowers (1972), is a provocative first-feature in which a relationship between a businessman and his protégé (with forbidden sexual undertones) goes awry with the introduction of the younger man into the home of the boss’s mistress. The March of Fools (1975), a perennial favourite and Ha’s best known film, is a college comedy that offers a snapshot into 1970s student life, with dark undertones that reflect on the prevailing dictatorship of the time, and The Ascension of Han-ne (1975) mixes elements from traditional ghost stories and shamanic practices to tell the story of a woman who is saved from suicide only to later fall prey to the gross antagonism of the village shaman.”

And further words, from the Barbican…

“In the 1970s, Ha Gil-jong shook up Korean cinema, offering a thrillingly diverse series of features which critiqued the contemporary military dictatorship and put him in constant battle with film censors.

The three films in this programme, co-curated with the Barbican, embrace entirely different styles and genres – melodrama, comedy and horror – to comment and interrogate a troubled present.

Ha died at the tragically young age of 37, the same age as Fassbinder, with whom he has been compared, along with Vigo and Pasolini. We are delighted to show a selection of his work, very rarely screened in the UK, back on the big screen.”