KOFIC Announces Fellows for The 2007 Filmmakers Development Lab.
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Officiating in Los Angeles at the opening of the first representative office of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) outside Korea, Chairperson Ms. An Cheong Sook today announced the line up of Fellows and Mentors for the second KOFIC Filmmakers Development Lab aimed at emerging filmmakers of Korean and Korean descent in the diaspora.
The Filmmakers Development Lab chooses five emerging filmmakers from submitted scripts. These Fellows are matched with individual Mentors drawn from the film industry in Korea and the United States. The Fellows and Mentors spend a week in Hawaii in one-on-one sessions developing their scripts. The Fellows and their projects are then presented to producers, financiers, production companies at the Independent Feature Film Market in New York in September, and at the Pusan International Film Festival in Korea, in October. The Lab and its activities are wholly funded by the Korean Film Council, and held in partnership with the Academy for Creative Media at the University of Hawaii, and the Independent Film Project in New York, and CAAM (Center for Asian American Media) in San Francisco.
"The first Filmmakers Development Lab held in 2006 was successful in encouraging and focusing the Fellows on developing their scripts and skills to help realize their projects and nurture their professional careers", said Chairperson An. "We are pleased to support and organize this second Lab to build on the success and experience of last year's effort. As a demonstration of our strong support of the Lab, and our wish to help filmmakers of Korean descent, we will also be awarding US$40,000 to the most meritorious Lab script or scripts later this year".
The Five Fellows for the Filmmakers Development Lab 2007 are:
NATHAN ADOLFSON – "MODEL AMERICAN" a Korean American adoptee from the Mid-West now based in Los Angeles, Nathan graduated from UCLA with a Spotlight Award for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking, Editing and Screenwriting, and the Directors' Guild of American (DGA) Award for Outstanding Achievement in Motion Picture Direction for his personal diary documentary PASSING THROUGH which was also shown at Cannes International Film Festival and aired nationally on PBS. He has written scripts for independent feature films and is currently in preproduction on his directorial debut THE HELP.
CHRISTINA CHOE – "GUESS WHO'S COMING FOR KIMCHEE?" is a documentary filmmaker, video artist, TV editor and screenwriter based in Los Angeles. Her short films, TURMERIC BORDER MARKS and UNITED NATIONS OF HIP HOP have screened at film festivals worldwide, including AFI, Seattle, and Palm Springs. She is a recipient of the New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship grant in Video, and as worked as editor in TV for ABC, VH1, HBO and History Channel.
JEYUN CHOI " GRAND ISLAND" is a graduate of MIT and UCLA currently working at Vertigo Entertainment in Los Angeles where she is co-producer of NOTE TO SELF comedy project. She was producer and director of episode contents and segments of SUCKS LESS, WITH KEVIN SMITH for mtvU.
SAMUEL KIEHOON LEE - "THE PLEONSASTIC" is based in Ontario, Canada and graduated in film studies from Queen's University. His independent feature MUTE screened at Cinequest film festival in San Jose, and STANDARD DEVIATION was screened at Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. His short documentary HOW TO MAKE KIMCHI: ACCORDING TO MY KUN-UMMA, and short drama film 5 X 90: THE WAKE have shown at many international film festivals in US, Canada, and Europe. He has worked as an editor for TV documentary series and magazine programs.
GENE RHEE – "THE OUTSIDER" graduated top of his MFA class from USC Film School's Peter Stark program and received the Cinema Circulus Scholarship Award. He has worked at 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, and as screenwriter has projects at DreamWorksSKG, Maverick Films, Hallmark Entertainment and The Fox Family Channel among others. His short film THE QUEST FOR LENGTH screened at Sundance Film Festival 2002; received the New Visions Director Award at the Visual Communications Film Festival, and chosen as one of the best comedy shorts of 2002 at the American Cinematheque. His first feature film THE TROUBLE WITH ROMANCE premiered at the 2007 Cinequest Film Festival and was recognized as one of the Top 3 films by the festival audience.
Chairperson An also announced the Mentors for the 2007 Lab",Our Lab would not be successful without the participation of talented professionals in the film industries in both Korea and the United States who have been generous with their time and effort". Chairperson An explained that the "KOFIC Filmmakers' Development Lab is unique in its mix of talents from both countries, generating a cross-pollination of creativity and exchange of ideas, perspectives and approaches from a deep and rich range of experiences".
JONATHAN H. KIM has produced five of the top 50 highest grossing Korean films of all time including Silmido, the first Korean film to surpass 10 million domestic ticket sales. He has received the Daejong Award for Best Picture and Best Executive Producer the Korean Oscar equivalent. His 16 produced films include the critically acclaimed LIES (56th Venice Film Festival), To Catch a Virgin Ghost (the most profitable film of 2004), and the upcoming release of "Virgin Snow" (a Korean-Japanese co-production). He recently completed his term as the chairman of the Korean Film Producers Association. He served as Mentor in the first KOFIC Fillmmakers' Development Lab in 2006
Lee Joo-ik is a well known producer in Asia, active in international co-productions including A Battle of Wits a China, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea production, starring Andy Lau and Ahn Sung-ki, directed by Jacob Cheung; "A Millionaire's First Love", directed by Kim Tae-gyoon ("Temptation of Wolves" 2004, "Volcano High" 2001), and "SEVEN SWORDS" (2005), a China, Hong Kong and Korean co-production, directed by Tsui Hark. His current projects in development and production include US and Asian co-productions LAUNDRY WARRIOR starring Jang Dong-gun, LATE AUTUMn directed by Zhang Jia-rui.He attended schools in Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and the USA.
PEGGY RAJSKI is a veteran producer of indie films and mainstream Hollywood productions. She has worked with award-winning writers and directors including Stephen Frears, John Sayles and Jodie Foster. Rajski's producing credits include HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, BEE SEASON, LITTLE MAN TATE, THE GRIFTERS, USED PEOPLE, MATEWAN, EIGHT MEN OUT and THE BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET and most recently, AMERICAN BEAUTY writer Alan Ball's feature directing debut TOWELHEAD. Rajski's own directorial debut, the comedy/drama TREVOR, won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short. Other directorial outings include the long-running hit television series ER.
BRANT ROSE started at United Talent Agency and set up the Brant Rose Agency in 2000 to represent writers, directors and producers for film and TV. He has shaped the careers of Academy Award, Golden Globe, WGA and Independent Spirit Award winners and nominees. Among the clients he currently or has worked with are: Ken Nolan (BLACK HAWK DOWN), Shonda Rhimes (GREYS ANATOMY, INTRODUCING DOROTHY DANDRIDGE), Bill Condon (Oscar winning writer/director GODS & MONSTERS, CHICAGO), Blake Masters (creator of upcoming series BROTHERHOOD for Showtime, THE NINTH MAN for Spielberg), Bragi Schut (creator of CBS series THRESHOLD, Nicholls winner SEASON OF THE WITCH at Columbia), Jessica Yu (Oscar winner for docu BREATHING LESSONS), Miguel Arteta (STARMAPS, CHUCK & BUCK), Jessica Sanders (Oscar shortlist 2006 for docu AFTER INNOCENCE) and Ziad Doueiri (WEST BEIRUT, LILA SAYS, SLEEPER CELL series).
BARRY SABATH is Senior Lecturer and Senior Mentor at the American Film Institute. Sabath's AFI students have won Student Academy Award for Short Film in 2005, and he will soon produce a horror film proejct at MGM. Sabath has nearly two decades of feature film development experience. He ran the film division of Marsha and Robin Williams' Blue Wolf Productions, whose productions include MRS. DOUBTFIRE, PATCH ADAMS and JAKOB THE LIAR. At Twentieth Century Fox, he was Senior Vice President of Production for Paul Schiff Productions, where he oversaw MY COUSIN VINNY and was co-producer on GHOST IN THE MACHINE and PCU. He spent four years at Columbia Pictures, as Executive Story Editor and Vice President of Production and supervised FLATLINERS and IMMEDIATE FAMILY. He served as Mentor in the first KOFIC Filmmakers' Development Lab in 2006.
"It is important to us that through this cross cultural experience, these filmmakers will be able to bring their talents and stories to markets and audiences around the world" concluded Chairperson An.
Chris Lee, Director of the Academy for Creative Media at the University of Hawaii added that "Following the tremendous success of last year's inaugural KOFIC Filmmaker's Development Lab in partnership with the Academy for Creative Media (ACM) at the University of Hawaii, all of us at the ACM are thrilled and honored to continue our association with the Korean National Film Council's 2007 Filmmaker's Development Lab. We look forward to hosting old friends and new ones this year in Hawaii and the opportunity to discover and nurture emerging Korean filmmakers from around the world".
Stephen Gong, Executive Director of CAAM adds "The Center for Asian American Media is absolutely thrilled to be part of KOFIC's 2007 Filmmaker Development Lab. This is one of KOFIC's many groundbreaking activities that illustrates their visionary leadership in the development of artists in international cinema".
"IFP applauds KOFIC in its smart approach to developing Korean talent worldwide, irrespective of national borders", says Michelle Byrd, Executive Director of IFP. "We are pleased to welcome the Lab participants to this year's IFP Market Emerging Narrative program, a talent showcase which provides forty diverse screenwriters and writer/directors a forum to present new feature projects, meet with producers, and network with industry professionals who can help accelerated the development of their work, as well as their filmmaking careers".
CONTACT: Denise Hwang +82-2-958-7592 for KOFIC(Seoul)
Sun-young Moon +1-323-932-7033~4 for KOFIC(LA)
Website: http://fdl.kofic.or.kr
The Filmmakers Development Lab chooses five emerging filmmakers from submitted scripts. These Fellows are matched with individual Mentors drawn from the film industry in Korea and the United States. The Fellows and Mentors spend a week in Hawaii in one-on-one sessions developing their scripts. The Fellows and their projects are then presented to producers, financiers, production companies at the Independent Feature Film Market in New York in September, and at the Pusan International Film Festival in Korea, in October. The Lab and its activities are wholly funded by the Korean Film Council, and held in partnership with the Academy for Creative Media at the University of Hawaii, and the Independent Film Project in New York, and CAAM (Center for Asian American Media) in San Francisco.
"The first Filmmakers Development Lab held in 2006 was successful in encouraging and focusing the Fellows on developing their scripts and skills to help realize their projects and nurture their professional careers", said Chairperson An. "We are pleased to support and organize this second Lab to build on the success and experience of last year's effort. As a demonstration of our strong support of the Lab, and our wish to help filmmakers of Korean descent, we will also be awarding US$40,000 to the most meritorious Lab script or scripts later this year".
The Five Fellows for the Filmmakers Development Lab 2007 are:
NATHAN ADOLFSON – "MODEL AMERICAN" a Korean American adoptee from the Mid-West now based in Los Angeles, Nathan graduated from UCLA with a Spotlight Award for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking, Editing and Screenwriting, and the Directors' Guild of American (DGA) Award for Outstanding Achievement in Motion Picture Direction for his personal diary documentary PASSING THROUGH which was also shown at Cannes International Film Festival and aired nationally on PBS. He has written scripts for independent feature films and is currently in preproduction on his directorial debut THE HELP.
CHRISTINA CHOE – "GUESS WHO'S COMING FOR KIMCHEE?" is a documentary filmmaker, video artist, TV editor and screenwriter based in Los Angeles. Her short films, TURMERIC BORDER MARKS and UNITED NATIONS OF HIP HOP have screened at film festivals worldwide, including AFI, Seattle, and Palm Springs. She is a recipient of the New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship grant in Video, and as worked as editor in TV for ABC, VH1, HBO and History Channel.
JEYUN CHOI " GRAND ISLAND" is a graduate of MIT and UCLA currently working at Vertigo Entertainment in Los Angeles where she is co-producer of NOTE TO SELF comedy project. She was producer and director of episode contents and segments of SUCKS LESS, WITH KEVIN SMITH for mtvU.
SAMUEL KIEHOON LEE - "THE PLEONSASTIC" is based in Ontario, Canada and graduated in film studies from Queen's University. His independent feature MUTE screened at Cinequest film festival in San Jose, and STANDARD DEVIATION was screened at Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. His short documentary HOW TO MAKE KIMCHI: ACCORDING TO MY KUN-UMMA, and short drama film 5 X 90: THE WAKE have shown at many international film festivals in US, Canada, and Europe. He has worked as an editor for TV documentary series and magazine programs.
GENE RHEE – "THE OUTSIDER" graduated top of his MFA class from USC Film School's Peter Stark program and received the Cinema Circulus Scholarship Award. He has worked at 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, and as screenwriter has projects at DreamWorksSKG, Maverick Films, Hallmark Entertainment and The Fox Family Channel among others. His short film THE QUEST FOR LENGTH screened at Sundance Film Festival 2002; received the New Visions Director Award at the Visual Communications Film Festival, and chosen as one of the best comedy shorts of 2002 at the American Cinematheque. His first feature film THE TROUBLE WITH ROMANCE premiered at the 2007 Cinequest Film Festival and was recognized as one of the Top 3 films by the festival audience.
Chairperson An also announced the Mentors for the 2007 Lab",Our Lab would not be successful without the participation of talented professionals in the film industries in both Korea and the United States who have been generous with their time and effort". Chairperson An explained that the "KOFIC Filmmakers' Development Lab is unique in its mix of talents from both countries, generating a cross-pollination of creativity and exchange of ideas, perspectives and approaches from a deep and rich range of experiences".
JONATHAN H. KIM has produced five of the top 50 highest grossing Korean films of all time including Silmido, the first Korean film to surpass 10 million domestic ticket sales. He has received the Daejong Award for Best Picture and Best Executive Producer the Korean Oscar equivalent. His 16 produced films include the critically acclaimed LIES (56th Venice Film Festival), To Catch a Virgin Ghost (the most profitable film of 2004), and the upcoming release of "Virgin Snow" (a Korean-Japanese co-production). He recently completed his term as the chairman of the Korean Film Producers Association. He served as Mentor in the first KOFIC Fillmmakers' Development Lab in 2006
Lee Joo-ik is a well known producer in Asia, active in international co-productions including A Battle of Wits a China, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea production, starring Andy Lau and Ahn Sung-ki, directed by Jacob Cheung; "A Millionaire's First Love", directed by Kim Tae-gyoon ("Temptation of Wolves" 2004, "Volcano High" 2001), and "SEVEN SWORDS" (2005), a China, Hong Kong and Korean co-production, directed by Tsui Hark. His current projects in development and production include US and Asian co-productions LAUNDRY WARRIOR starring Jang Dong-gun, LATE AUTUMn directed by Zhang Jia-rui.He attended schools in Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and the USA.
PEGGY RAJSKI is a veteran producer of indie films and mainstream Hollywood productions. She has worked with award-winning writers and directors including Stephen Frears, John Sayles and Jodie Foster. Rajski's producing credits include HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, BEE SEASON, LITTLE MAN TATE, THE GRIFTERS, USED PEOPLE, MATEWAN, EIGHT MEN OUT and THE BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET and most recently, AMERICAN BEAUTY writer Alan Ball's feature directing debut TOWELHEAD. Rajski's own directorial debut, the comedy/drama TREVOR, won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short. Other directorial outings include the long-running hit television series ER.
BRANT ROSE started at United Talent Agency and set up the Brant Rose Agency in 2000 to represent writers, directors and producers for film and TV. He has shaped the careers of Academy Award, Golden Globe, WGA and Independent Spirit Award winners and nominees. Among the clients he currently or has worked with are: Ken Nolan (BLACK HAWK DOWN), Shonda Rhimes (GREYS ANATOMY, INTRODUCING DOROTHY DANDRIDGE), Bill Condon (Oscar winning writer/director GODS & MONSTERS, CHICAGO), Blake Masters (creator of upcoming series BROTHERHOOD for Showtime, THE NINTH MAN for Spielberg), Bragi Schut (creator of CBS series THRESHOLD, Nicholls winner SEASON OF THE WITCH at Columbia), Jessica Yu (Oscar winner for docu BREATHING LESSONS), Miguel Arteta (STARMAPS, CHUCK & BUCK), Jessica Sanders (Oscar shortlist 2006 for docu AFTER INNOCENCE) and Ziad Doueiri (WEST BEIRUT, LILA SAYS, SLEEPER CELL series).
BARRY SABATH is Senior Lecturer and Senior Mentor at the American Film Institute. Sabath's AFI students have won Student Academy Award for Short Film in 2005, and he will soon produce a horror film proejct at MGM. Sabath has nearly two decades of feature film development experience. He ran the film division of Marsha and Robin Williams' Blue Wolf Productions, whose productions include MRS. DOUBTFIRE, PATCH ADAMS and JAKOB THE LIAR. At Twentieth Century Fox, he was Senior Vice President of Production for Paul Schiff Productions, where he oversaw MY COUSIN VINNY and was co-producer on GHOST IN THE MACHINE and PCU. He spent four years at Columbia Pictures, as Executive Story Editor and Vice President of Production and supervised FLATLINERS and IMMEDIATE FAMILY. He served as Mentor in the first KOFIC Filmmakers' Development Lab in 2006.
"It is important to us that through this cross cultural experience, these filmmakers will be able to bring their talents and stories to markets and audiences around the world" concluded Chairperson An.
Chris Lee, Director of the Academy for Creative Media at the University of Hawaii added that "Following the tremendous success of last year's inaugural KOFIC Filmmaker's Development Lab in partnership with the Academy for Creative Media (ACM) at the University of Hawaii, all of us at the ACM are thrilled and honored to continue our association with the Korean National Film Council's 2007 Filmmaker's Development Lab. We look forward to hosting old friends and new ones this year in Hawaii and the opportunity to discover and nurture emerging Korean filmmakers from around the world".
Stephen Gong, Executive Director of CAAM adds "The Center for Asian American Media is absolutely thrilled to be part of KOFIC's 2007 Filmmaker Development Lab. This is one of KOFIC's many groundbreaking activities that illustrates their visionary leadership in the development of artists in international cinema".
"IFP applauds KOFIC in its smart approach to developing Korean talent worldwide, irrespective of national borders", says Michelle Byrd, Executive Director of IFP. "We are pleased to welcome the Lab participants to this year's IFP Market Emerging Narrative program, a talent showcase which provides forty diverse screenwriters and writer/directors a forum to present new feature projects, meet with producers, and network with industry professionals who can help accelerated the development of their work, as well as their filmmaking careers".
CONTACT: Denise Hwang +82-2-958-7592 for KOFIC(Seoul)
Sun-young Moon +1-323-932-7033~4 for KOFIC(LA)
Website: http://fdl.kofic.or.kr
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