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A Single Spark
Park Kwang-Su | South Korea | 1995 | 100 min.

In 1970, a young labor activist in South Korea committed suicide by self-immolation as a protest against the deplorable conditions under which Korean garment-industry workers were forced to work. Artfully blending color and b&w stock, moving back and forth in time, Park delves into the character of Korean society, past and present, through the investigations of a fictional journalist, an amalgam of three real-life activists, who is writing a biography of the dead Jeon Tae-Il a decade after his suicide.

DIRECTOR: Park Kwang-Su
SCREENPLAY: Lee Chang-Dong, Kim Jung-Hwan, Lee Hyo-In, Hur Jim-Ho, Park Kwang-Su
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Yoo Young-Gil
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Cine 2000 (Formerly Keyweck Shide Pictures)
CO-PRODUCERS: Daewoo Cinema and the Jeon Tae-Il Commemorative Association
CAST: Kim Yong-Su - Moon Sung-Keun; Jeon Tae-Il - Hong Kyoung-In; Shin Jung-Soon - Kim Sun-Jae

American Premiere, 1996 Human Rights Watch Festival. Distributed by Fortissimo Film Sales, Marjan van der Haar, Herenmarkt 10-2, 1013 ED Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Tel: 011-31-20 627-3215 Fax: 01131- 20 626-1155.

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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