The 2022 Florence Korea Film Fest: Movies & Special Guests
Thursday, 7 – Friday, 15: FLORENCE KOREA FILM FESTIVAL. Cinema La Compagnia, via Cavour 50/r. Stensen Cinema, Viale Don Giovanni Minzoni, 25c. Virtual, Più Compagnia, Mymovies.it.
The Korean Film Festival, an entertaining and engaging way to bridge European and Asian cultures through the arts, has been organized annually by the Taegukgi-Toscana Korea Association and directed by Riccardo Gelli since 2002. This year’s edition will be held in a hybrid fashion, resuming in-person screenings alongside virtual options first offered in the 2020 festival. Created in Florence a commemorable 20 years ago, the festival will host Korean film industry professionals during masterclasses in addition to documentaries, films, and short films, the latter showcased by the “Corto, Corti!” program.
From thrillers to action movies to melodramas galore, the Florence Korea Film Festival, all accompanied by English and Italian subtitles, will present 80 films. Specifically, in addition to “Corto, Corti!,” the festival will showcase blockbusters in the Korean Horizons section, emerging artists in Independent Korea Programs, and K-Documentary. In tribute to the festival’s 20th edition, screen time will be reserved for the animated web storytelling and digital comics of the brand new Webtoon and Cinema section. Significantly impacting the Korean cinema industry, Webtoons can be normally accessed through smartphones.
Guest of honor and star of the accredited Netflix series Squid Games, Lee Jung-Jae, will appear in Florence to connect with his audience and share the highlights of his career. Squid Games has taken the cinematic world by storm with its debut on Netflix this past year, dominating the SAG awards as the first non-English series nominated four times, taking home three awards.
In addition to the screenings, the festival offers masterclasses for the general public, scholars, and film enthusiasts alike. One, co-hosted by Lee Jung-Jae, protagonist, and director, Hwang Dong-hyuk, will guide the audience on the parallels between their successful careers and South Korean cinematic culture. Tickets (€10) are available for the event on Saturday, April 9.
The Florence-Korea film festival will also present a tribute to Lee Jung-Jae through the screenings of 10 of the most pivotal films of his career. While Western audiences most appreciate his role in Squid Games, a captivating series of individuals who compete in chilling children’s games in hopes of economic relief, the screenings shine a light on the journey of his career in modeling and acting. The tribute to Jung-Jae begins as early as his films The Young Man (1994) and City of the Rising Sun (1999).
Alongside Lee Jung-Jae and Hwang Dong-hyuk, one of the most admirable women in the Korean film industry; director Shin Su-won, will be a special guest. A force to be reckoned with as the winner of the 2016 festival, she will be competing her newest work, Hommage, in the Independent Korea category. Her feminine presence emphasizes the festival’s inclusive themes, uniting Korean and Italian audiences through a diverse and entertaining fashion.
Intertwining cinematic inclusivity through multicultural audiences, the 2022 festival poster was unveiled to reveal a woman moving while holding a megaphone. Surrounded by the colors of the Korean flag, the woman is a symbol of freedom and inclusivity, representing the true message of the Florence Korea film festival.
Tickets for the festival are currently available for presale online, with affordable pricing and packages. Single screening tickets range from €4 – €6, depending on the day or evening option. Alternatively, daily subscriptions are available from €8 – €12. Online festival packages can sell from €12.90 – €150.00, ranging from a basic to a partner subscription. In person, screenings are held at Cinema la Compagnia, Via Camillo Cavour, 50/R, 50121 Firenze FI; and Stensen cinema,viale Don Giovanni Minzoni. Virtually one can access the festival’s screenings online at Più Compagnia and Mymovies. it. For more information on tickets, schedules, and screenings, visit https://www.koreafilmfest.com/
