Interest in Korean cinema has grown thanks to Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite and this year’s festival is tiptop
While cinemas continue to grapple with an uncertain pandemic-induced future, the film festival circuit has adjusted swiftly to the chaos. Recent weeks have seen the
Toronto and
London festivals, as well as smaller events such as the Pordenone silent film festival, successfully pivot to digital editions; the next festival to take the home-viewing route is the London Korean film festival, running from 29 October to 12 November.
It’s a cracker, too: an annual highlight on the London cinephile’s autumn calendar and now anyone in the
UK can sample most of the LKFF’s delights. (Some selections will screen only in cinemas, but the bulk of the programme is streamable, with limited virtual tickets now available to book.) It’s felicitous timing in a year that saw a sudden surge of mainstream interest in Korean cinema, thanks to a certain dark-horse winner of the best picture Oscar: if your knowledge doesn’t extend far past Parasite, here’s a good place to start exploring.