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Film Festival to Raise Public Interest in Old Films'

It's a new move to expand the country's movie genres.
A group of Korean directors, actors and movie critics are taking part in a festival to raise public awareness of older movies, and the importance of a cinematheque to screen them.
Son Heekyung has more.

Most films nowadays have a set genre like melodrama, comedy or thriller and all have predictable endings.
Movie critics say this could be because most directors and producers only watch or prefer works produced in the 21st century.
This is something that Korean directors, actors and movie critics want to change.
They are taking part in a film festival in Seoul to see if they can widen the country's cinematic horizons.

SON HEEKYUNG, REPORTER: "A special feature of this festival is the screening of Korean movies chosen by 12 notable directors, actors and critics.
Audiences have a chance to share their thoughts and opinions with them.
There's also a session where directors and actors explain why they selected these films for the festival".

Director Park Chanwook of "Oldboy" fame heads the group of 12, and says the idea is to collect and preserve older movies or film noir.
He says watching old films helps produce new ones.. and at times, they're more refreshing and fun to watch.

RECORDED: "The old films screened during the festival will have a powerful impact on movie lovers and aspiring filmmakers.
I also remember watching a film by Alfred Hitchcock and deciding to become a director. Older films are so influential they can completely change the way upcoming directors produce their films".

This is the 1938 gangster film "Angels with Dirty Faces" by director Michael Curtiz.
The movie is about two kids growing up in the toughest part of New York.
Korean director Ryu Seungwan highly recommends this film, which is famous for James Cagney playing a gangster.

RECORDED: "Whether a country has a cinematheque shows the standard of its film industry.
We decided to hold this event to share the cinematheque with Korean audiences.
I was a big film fan before becoming a director, so I'm more than thrilled to take part in this event".

The ultimate goal is the setup of a small theater or cinematheque specializing in rarely seen films like Cinematheque Francaise in Paris, which houses the world's largest archive of films.

Son Heekyung, Arirang News.

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