2007 New York Korean Film Festival

The New York Korean Film Festival, screening from August 21 through September 2, 2007 at Cinema Village, IFC Center and BAM Rose Cinemas, once again highlights the remarkable diversity of current Korean cinema. The Korean film industry is now facing uncertain times, to say the least. The reduction of the screen quota by half, along with increased competition from Hollywood (blockbusters such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Shrek 3, Spiderman 3, and Transformers dominated this summer's box office), as well as waning interest from such formerly reliable Asian markets as Japan and Hong Kong, soaring production costs, and costly flops, have had some observers declaring that the "Korean wave" of the past few years has crashed. However, there may be a light at the end of this dark tunnel, with two recent domestic hits, May 18 (which revisits the 1980 Kwangju protest massacre), and D-War (an English-language monster movie based on an ancient Korean legend), currently breaking records. So the fortunes for the Korean industry may be turning. On August 23 at the Korea Society, a panel discussion, titled "Is the 'Korean Wave' Dead? The Future of Korean Pop Culture," will focus on the current state of the Korean film industry. Below are some notable films from this year's selections.