As tension rises, Korean Film Council cancels Beijing film fest events

SEOUL: The Korean Film Council has opened a help centre for local companies that have been financially disadvantaged amid political tensions between Seoul and Beijing.

Key market events that have been held annually by the Korean Film Council ( KOFIC) during the Beijing International Film Festival have been cancelled this year.

The move has led to questions in the South Korean media and film industry as Korean movies are also missing from the festival lineup amid strained ties between Seoul and Beijing over a US missile defence system.

KOFIC, a state-backed organisation for promoting Korean films overseas, has opened a promotional booth during the market period every single year since the festival’s second edition in 2012. Until last year, some 20 Korean companies participated in the KOFIC booth, providing information about the local post-production technology, which had been in high demand in China.

On Mar 15, however, market organisers informed the council that it would not be possible to host the booth due to “safety concerns,” Han Sang-hee, director of KOFIC’s international promotion team, told The Hollywood Reporter.

“We were informed about potential fire hazards and had to notify 16 Korean companies that the booth will not open this year. Each market has its set of rules and regulations and we respect it,” said Han.

Organisers of the fest that kicked off last Sunday have said that the lack of South Korean films among this year’s lineup of 500-plus films “was not a political decision.”

But one major Korean investor-distributor, which asked not to be named, said its films had been disinvited. “We received an email from a programmer informing of us of the disinvitation and an apology. But you can’t really say anything, because it was done before the festival announced its official line-up and festival programming, not only at Beijing but at any given film festival, is always bound to change,” said a spokesperson for the investor-distributor.

No Korean star will grace the event either.

Korean media and film industry representatives have claimed that there is political motivation behind the move, as Seoul’s and Beijing’s ties have become increasingly strained.