10th Korean Film Festival Frankfurt
The 10th Korean Film Festival Frankfurt 2021 took place from October 20th to 31st, 2021. Last year was a very special year for the Project K team due to the 10th anniversary of the Korean Film Festival. Thanks to the long-standing support of visitors and sponsors the festival was able to celebrate its 10th anniversary. The motto of the festival was “Identity”. With the “What’s your ID?” campaign, the Project K-Team and the visitors had the opportunity to look back on the last 10 years, question their own identity and to rediscover themselves.
Like previous years, the year 2021 was not spared from the global COVID-19 pandemic either. Even though the cinemas were reopened, the opening of the cinemas was subject to strict conditions so that the festival had to take place with limited capacity in the cinema halls. However, the Project K team wanted to offer visitors and supporters a special cinematic experience for the 10th anniversary. For this reason, the 10th Korean Film Festival Frankfurt was prepared in hybrid form as a mixture of face-to-face and online events. For this a new ticket system was used, so that online ticket sales were completely independent from the two cinema partners, Cinestar Metropolis and Eldorado. Despite these challenges, this year’s festival had 1,126 visitors.
The festival also had special guests: in addition to the Consul General of the Republic of Korea, who officially opened the 10th Korean Film Festival Frankfurt with his greeting, the music duo “Jinspark” was a guest. Prior to the opening film, you could enjoy their performance as they mixed Korean traditional music with modern music using the handpan and gayageum. In addition, this year’s festival had two patrons: Angela Dorn, the Hessian Minister for Science and Art, and Peter Feldmann, the Lord Mayor of Frankfurt. Unfortunately, the Minister Dorn and Lord Mayor Feldmann were unable to attend the festival due to their schedule, but both supported the festival with a greeting.
saveourcinema
The cinema industry, like all other industries, suffered in recent years due to the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic and the subsequent government lockdown. Under the motto #saveourcinema, the festival was increasingly committed to the preservation of cinemas last year. The festival was supposed to encourage people to continue going to the cinema while adhering to the necessary hygiene rules. In addition, solidarity and cohesion among cinema and film lovers were promoted. For this reason, the Project K-Team decided to partner with Eldorado, one of the oldest cinemas in Frankfurt. Thus, the 10th Korean Film Festival Frankfurt was held in the Eldorado in addition to the traditional venue, the CineStar Metropolis.
Film Program
The films were shown at CineStar Metropolis and Eldorado theaters from October 20th until the 25th, 2021, while others could be streamed online via the Project K homepage from October 26-31, 2021. The opening film of the festival was the promising action drama “Escape from Mogadishu” (모가디슈 탈출) by director RYOO Seung-wan, which celebrated its Germany premiere at the Korean Film Festival and was completely sold out. A total of 23 films including feature films, art house films, diaspora and independent films, were shown during the festival in order to offer the broadest possible genre of Korean films. The top 5 films of our cinema-goers were “Escape from Mogadishu” (모가디슈 탈출), “Recalled” (내일의 기억), “Sinkhole” (싱크홀), “Hard Hit” (발신제한) and “Pipeline” (파이프라인).
Film List
Film list Cinestar Metropolis
| Escape from Mogadishu | 모가디슈 탈출 |
| Pipeline | 파이프라인 |
| In the Name of the Son | 아들의 이름으로 |
| Sinkhole | 싱크홀 |
| Climbing | 클라이밍 |
| The Book of Fish | 자산어보 |
| Hard Hit | 발신제한 |
| Recalled | 내일의 기억 |
| Kids are Fine | 아이들은 즐겁다 |
| Three Sisters | 세 자매 |
Film list Eldorado
| Dust-Man | 더스트맨 |
| A Distant Place | 정말 먼 곳 |
| KIAFA (Korean Independent Animation Filmmakers Association) | Cocoon Moth The Cafe Run Run Run Away The House |
| Introduction | 인트로덕션 |
| Short Vacation | 종착역 |
| Aloners | 혼자 사는 사람들 |
Film list Online
| Josée | 조제 |
| A Bedsore | 욕창 |
| I Don´t Fire Myself | 나는 나를 |
| Spa Night | Spa Night |
| New Year Blues | 새해전야 |
| Late Autumn | 만추 |
| Samjin Company English Class | 삼진그룹 영어 토익방 |
Supporting Program
For the 10th anniversary of the Korean film festival, 10 hotspots were set up in Frankfurt. Through these hotspots, visitors to the city of Frankfurt could experience Korean culture. During the festival, visitors were able to take advantage of culinary, musical and cultural offerings from local partners. The hotspots were presented on the Project K homepage for online visitors.
Furthermore, the festival also had a special partnership with KimCeramics. Eva Kim, the entrepreneur of KimCeramics, was interviewed about Korean ceramic art, which can be read on the Project K homepage. In addition to the interview, a limited edition bowl and soju cup were designed in collaboration with Project K, which could be ordered from the KimCeramics website.
A special supporting program for the festival’s online visitors was also prepared this year: With tutorial videos about Jeongi Jeobgi, the Korean art of paper folding, and an unboxing from Easy Cook Asia, the online visitors were able to experience Korean culture from home. Moreover, there were also numerous competitions on social media, so that the festival and its 10th anniversary could also be viewed online anniversary with excitement.
In addition to these programs, the K-Pop Contest 2021 was organized online in cooperation with re*markable. The contest was streamed via re*markable’s YouTube channel and the applicants were able to demonstrate their dancing and singing talent(s). To round off the film festival, re*markable also hosted an exclusive online mini concert on October 30, 2021 with popular violinist Jun Sung Ahn, also known as JunCurryAhn.
The Korean Film Festival 2021 would not have been possible without
Generalkonsulat der Republik Korea in Frankfurt, HessenFilm & Medien GmbH, Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange (KOFICE), South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), Korean Film Council (KOFIC), Kulturamt Frankfurt am Main, FIDELIS Accounting GmbH, Hallyu-Com-on, Hyundai Motor Europe GmbH, Hankook Tire Europe GmbH, FrankfurtRheinMain Gmbh, KIAFA (Korean Independent Animation Filmmakers Association), Festival Scope, Shift 72, re*markable