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KNOCK-OUTCAST FOR ‘KNOCK-OFF’
Kim Soohyunstar of ‘My Love from The Star’, ‘It’s OK not to be OK’ and ‘Queen of Tears’, teams up with Cho Boa (“Tale of the Nine Tailed”, “Military Prosecutor Doberman”), in Korean crime series “Knockoff,” which Disney has scheduled for a 2025 release.
The show delves into the dark world of counterfeit goods and follows a man whose life is ruined in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Desperate to rebuild what he once had, the man becomes involved in the counterfeit goods trade and quickly rises to the top of the counterfeit market. That puts him on a collision course with his ex-girlfriend, who is now a special police officer tasked with cracking down on the trade in counterfeit goods.
Disney is racing to build its Korean content library and has released ten shows so far in 2024.
The upcoming album includes ‘The Tyrant’, ‘Unmasked’, ‘Seoul Busters’, Light Shop’ and crime thriller “Gangnam B-side,” which will premiere as part of the Busan Film Festival (see below). Premium, talent-driven scripted dramas in 2025 include “Tempest,” “Low Life” and “Nine Puzzles.”
RICH HAUL, ‘POOR THINGS’
“Poor things,” the 2023 film directed by Yorgos Lanthimoshas obtained the FIPRESCI Grand Prix after being voted film of the year 2024 by the members of FIPRESCI, the International Federation of Film Critics. “Poor Things” premiered at the Venice Festival, where it won the Golden Lion for best film. Since then, it has added two Golden Globes, five BAFTAs and four Oscars.
The FIPRESCI Grand Prix will be awarded on September 20 during the opening gala of the 72nd San Sebastian Festival and screen the same day.
Searchlight photos
BUSAN SPECIAL SELECTIONS
The Busan International Film Festival has screened five films and six TV series in the Korean Cinema Today – Special Premiere section, which aims to showcase the latest and most prominent contemporary Korean commercial films.
While one, Hur Jin-ho‘A Normal Family’ had its first screening last year, the other four films are all world premieres. They include: ‘A girl with closed eyes’ a thriller that explores the complex and tense relationship between a criminal and a detective, who are reunited after the murder case of a bestselling author and stars Kim Minha (“Pachinko”) and Maan Choi; “Bogota: City of the Lost,” about Korean immigrants in Colombia who become smugglers; crime drama about two corrupt detectives, ‘Dirty Money’, which marks the directorial debut of director Kim Minsu (screenplay for ‘The Merciless’); and “Hear Me: Our Summer,” a remake of the 2009 Taiwanese film “Hear Me.”
The On Screen section contains “Beyond Goodbye,” a Japanese melodrama Kasumi Arimura and Sakaguchi Kentaro; ‘Born for the spotlight’ from the Taiwanese actor, writer and director and completes a trilogy that also includes ‘The Making of an Ordinary Woman’.
The Korean titles are: ‘Dongjae, the good one or the bastard,’ a spin-off series of the top-rated and nationally acclaimed drama “Stranger”; “Gangnam B-side,” a crime action drama surrounding a missing persons case; “Hellbound Season 2,” again directed by Yeon Sang Ho and written by Choi Gyu-seok; and “Way Back Love,” a teen fantasy romance in which an ex-boyfriend is now the Grim Reaper.
Gangnam B-side
Disney
SCREEN AUSTRALIA
Award-winning producer Darren Dale has been appointed member of the Screen Australia board for three years. He is the MD of the First Nations production company Blackfella movies. His credits include ‘First Australians’ (2008), ‘Total Control’ (2019-2024) and ‘Redfern Now’ (2012-2014).
He is currently a member of the board of directors Sydney Film Festivalthe Sydney Festival and the National Institute of Dramatic Art, as well as a member of the NSW Government’s Creative Communities Council. He is also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The appointment was announced by the Federal Minister of the Arts Tony Burke.