UH Academy for Creative Media and Korean filmmaker partners select first screenwriting fellows

Public Symposium on Korean Film Industry planned for next month

University of Hawaiʻi
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Posted: Aug 21, 2006

The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) and the University of Hawaiʻi‘s Academy for Creative Media have selected five promising screenwriters to participate in the inaugural KOFIC Filmmakers Development Lab September 4 — 10 in Hawaiʻi.

Inspired by similar creative environments such as the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, the KOFIC/ACM Development Lab selected its first filmmaking fellows from the United States, Canada and Korea with a view to realizing projects that can find audience appeal in both Korea and North America.

The fellows will be intensely mentored by Korean producers, ACM faculty, U.S. film industry leaders, and KOFIC staff during the weeklong retreat. In October, the fellows will be brought to the Pusan International Film Festival in Korea to market their scripts to film industry representatives and potential producers.

The Lab mentors will also participate in an ACM public symposium on the Korean Film Industry Friday, September 8, 4-5:30 pm at the Center for Korean Studies on the Manoa campus, co-sponsored by the Center and KBFD-TV.

The five fellows are:

Philip Chung, a playwright and screenwriter, artistic director of the Asian American Lodestone Theater, and columnist for Asianweek newspaper. He has written and directed the acclaimed play "The Golden Hour." His Lab entry "The Crimson Flower" is a noir-inflected thriller.

Kim Young Il is a screenwriter and filmmaker whose work has been recognized by the Film Independent and Austin Screenwriting competitions. His Lab entry "Hyung's Overture" is a passionate family drama of the sacrifice that one brother makes for the musical career of the other.

Abraham Lim, a filmmaker and writer whose films "Fly," "Roads and Bridges" and "MVP" were well received at various film festivals. Lim also edited Robert Altman's "Cookie's Fortune." His Lab entry "Orientation" follows one woman's tragic journey into Alzheimer's disease.

Jinoh Park has made several internationally acclaimed short films "Lunch," "Request" and "Slowly Silently" that have screened at Cannes and Sundance.

He was also chosen for the Cinefondation and Residence du Festival de Cannes. His Lab entry "Proposal" follows a filmmaker who makes a mysterious deal with a man to finance his film.

Mora Mi-Ok Stephens' debut feature film "Conventioneers" won the 2006 Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award for Best Feature, and following many festival screenings including Tribeca, Pusan, New York and Hawaii, will be theatrically released later this year. She is preparing her second feature with Billy Bob Thornton and Kim Yunjin. Her Lab entry "The 38th Parallel" is an action thriller set in Korea.

The Filmmakers Development Lab mentors include:

Johnathan Kim, chairman of the Korean Film Producer's Assocation and president of Hanmac Films, The producer of the contemporary classic "Silmido," he was awarded the Daejong (Korean Oscar) for Best Executive Producer in 2004.

Chul Shin, president of Shincine production company, has produced Gingko Bed, Hawai‘i International Film Festival favorite My Sassy Girl, and A Good Lawyer‘s Wife. He is noted in the film industry for his use of advanced graphics technology.

Wimal Dissanayake, a highly recognized scholar of Asian film who teaches ACM courses and seminars in advanced cinema and cultural theories.

Barry Sabath, senior lecturer at the American Film Institute, and a former film development head at Twentieth Century Fox, Columbia Pictures and Robin William‘s Blue Wolf Productions.

Adam Novak, Story Department head at the William Morris Agency.

Henry Kim, director of the Korean Film Council.

"Our strong partnership with Korean Film Council reflects both our international reach, and the recognition that the Academy for Creative Media is a center for excellence in filmmaking and film study," said Chris Lee, ACM director. "We appreciate the efforts of KOFIC chairwoman Ahn Cheong-sook and Lab organizer Roger Garcia in creating this intercultural bridge of story-telling."