Left behind in film industry; rural areas and independent film genre скачать в хорошем качестве

Left behind in film industry; rural areas and independent film genre

Korea's domestic film industry has been on a roll in recent years with a number of great, independent movies... doing well across the country. However, the simple pleasure of watching one of these films at the cinema can be quite difficult if you live outside of Korea's major cities as our Park Ji-won explains. Hongcheon county in Gangwon Province lies some 100-kilometers east of Seoul, and until this week residents would have to travel about an hour if they wanted to watch a movie in the theater. But the opening of a small digital film theater in Hongcheon this week has changed that. "I only watched,... probably three films a year. Now I hope to watch more films as the theater is very close to my home." "Hongcheon Cinema" is the nation's fourth small digital film theater to open in counties with a population of less than 100-thousand. The first was in Jangsu in 2010, followed by others in Gimje and Imsil last year, financed by their local governments. Based on their successes, the culture ministry plans to support the opening of 18 more small theaters in rural areas nationwide by next year. The ultimate planning is to set up a small film theater in every district or county that does not currently have one. Another area that needs special attention is the independent film sector. Audience numbers for independent films have been on the decline since 2009, while the market share of the top ten films last year reached some 35 percent,... much higher than in the U.S. at 24 percent and France at 26 percent. This is because,.. nearly 95 percent of the nation's 21-hundred screens are operated by the three major multiplex chains, CGV, Lotte, and Megabox. All are conglomerates,... and they mainly play films they have produced or invested in. An independent film director, who has received many international awards says,... he still has a hard time finding screens to play his films. "Multiplex chains do not offer their screens up unless it's a film produced or distributed by their own companies. Even if they do, they show them at very unpopular times,... like once in the early morning or very late at night. It's unfair." He added policymakers and movie fans need to pay attention to low-budget art films or independent films, if they want diversity in cinema. Park Ji-won, Arirang News.