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Black Republic
Park Kwang-Su | South Korea | 1990 | 100 min.

A young man named Kim comes to look for work in a bleak coal-mining town in dead winter. Against all odds, Kim finds a job, falls in love, and glimpses a better life--until his political past as a student is discovered. A quietly stirring film about social hypocrisy.

Shown at the 1996 Human Rights Watch Festival. Distributed by Motion Picture Promotion Corp., Hyun-Chan Ho, 206-46 Chongnyangni-dong, Tongdaemun-gu, Seoul, Korea, Tel: 011-82-2 958-7530 Fax: 011-82-2 958-7550.

Park Kwang-Su


Park Kwang-Su was born in Sokcho, Kanhwon-do in 1955. He grew up in Pusan in the southern part of Korea. While studying sculpture in Seoul at the National University, he began making short films on Super-8. After graduating, he founded the Seoul Film Group, which was instrumental in the development of the Korean independent film movement. Films coming out of this movement voiced significant opposition to the military government. He went on to study film at the ESEC Film School in Paris and on his return to Korea, worked as an assistant to Lee Chang-Ho on The Man with Three Coffins. His directorial debut, Chilsu and Mansu, is widely regarded as the cornerstone of Korea's "New Cinema." This and his subsequent features have been screened in many countries and have won numerous prizes at home and abroad. To the Starry Island set an important precedent for Korean independent production by attracting co-production financing from Britain's Channel 4 TV. Park's films all feature stunning and realistic cinematography and give a strong narrative voice to many of Korea's current social and political issues.

Filmography:

1988
CHILSU AND MANSU
International Forum of New Cinema, Berlin Film Festival; Third Prize of Young Critics Jury, Locarno Film Festival; Best New Director Prize at all three major festivals in Korea

1990
BLACK REPUBLIC
Best Director, Festival des 3 Continents (Nantes, France); Best Asian Feature, Singapore Film Festival; Grand Prix at all three major festivals in Korea

1991
BERLIN REPORT
In competition, Karlovy Vary Film Festival

1994
TO THE STARRY ISLAND
Audience Prize, Festival des 3 Continents (Nantes, France)

1995
A SINGLE SPARK
In competition, Berlin Film Festival; Grand Prix at all three major festivals in Korea

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