Abu Dhabi: Movie buffs in the UAE will get the opportunity to experience Korean films on the big screen with the first ever Korean Film Festival being held in Abu Dhabi and Dubai from April 5.
Organised by the embassy of the Republic of Korea and the Korean Cultural Centre, the film festival will see movies screened at Vox Cinemas at Yas Mall in Abu Dhabi and Vox Cinemas at Mall of the Emirates in Dubai until April 15.
Eight popular Korean films have been selected for the festival, with the films covering a wide range of genres including drama, horror, action, and documentary. Oversees sales of Korean films reached $43 million (Dh157.9 million) in 2016, and the organisers behind the film festival are hoping to generate more interest in the Korean film industry, particularly in the UAE.
“There are only few Korean films released annually in the UAE cinemas, so we have been trying to introduce Korean films in different ways. This year, we are organising our first Korean Film Festival to present a selection of recent brilliant films for people in the UAE to have a rich experience with Korean cinema,” said Park Kang-ho, the ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the UAE.
“The festival kicks off with Korea’s first zombie thriller feature film ‘Train to Busan’, and will be followed by documentary, action, family, historical drama, survival, and biography [films],” he added.
Kang-ho encouraged residents to go and watch the films, saying the movies offered a completely different perspective when compared to Hollywood. “Korean films have been ever growing since its very start in the 1920s, and people will find them distinctive from other films of other industries like Hollywood, in its emotions or depiction of stories. We hope people here in UAE will find the charms of Korean films through the festival.
“We hope to hold the Korean Film Festival as an annual event, starting from this year. We believe this will open an opportunity for Korean culture, especially films, to gain its popularity in the region, and for more UAE residents to experience exciting aspects of another world,” he added.
Kang-ho said the film festival also continued his country’s positive cultural exchange programme in the UAE and was a sign of growing bilateral ties. “We have been continuously expanding the scope of introducing cultural aspects of Korea and promoting cultural exchanges between the two countries. As a part of that, we have been holding annually the Korea Festival since 2013, along with other cultural events such as cooking seminars and Korean speech contest.
“We keep working on new projects with new subjects all the time. The Korean Film Festival is one of these new projects, which aims to showcase Korean culture in one of the most essential form of art,” he added.
Kang-ho said that the power of films was a great way of introducing Korean culture to residents in the UAE. “The Korean film industry is one of the strongest in the world, and we hope all the residents can enjoy the festival and get to know Korean culture through the films, even to those who haven’t been very familiar with Korea or its culture.”
Where and when: Vox Cinemas, Yas Mall, Abu Dhabi, April 5-8, Vox Cinemas, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai, April 12-15
Entry: Free entry but pre-registration is required through the festival’s official website: http://www.k-filmfest.com
Film listings: All Films and timings can also be accessed through the festival’s official website.
