The 1st Ottawa Korean Film Festival welcomes cinephiles!





The 1st Ottawa Korean Film Festival will kick off in Ottawa on Monday, September 17 and will run through Thursday, September 20 with a range of Korean films in a variety of genres for all audiences. Film festivals focused on Korean films have been abundant in major cities across Canada, and the Korean Cultural Centre will look to continue this positive trend for Korean films with the launch of the 1st Ottawa Korean Film Festival (OKFF) in the nation’s capital.





Organized by the Korean Cultural Centre and supported by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), the 1st OKFF will open on Monday night at the Ottawa Art Gallery’s Alma Duncan Salon, before switching venues to the Lansdowne VIP Cineplex for the rest of the festival. With the overarching theme of ‘Unshakable Story,’ the inaugural OKFF will feature films that celebrate the unwavering and powerful human spirit.

The Opening Film of the 1st OKFF will be <i Can Speak> by Director Kim Hyun-seok starring Na Moon-hee and Lee Je-hoon, a film which brilliantly balances both the artistic and mass appeal. <i Can Speak> will be screened at the Alma Duncan Salon of the Ottawa Art Gallery on Monday, September 17 at 6:00 PM.

Day 2 on Tuesday, September 18 will feature <Microhabitat> directed by Jeon Go-woon at the Cineplex Cinemas Lansdowne VIP at 7:00 PM, a black comedy film where the main protagonist played by Esom gives up her home to focus on her personal desires.

Directed by the Korean godfather of period dramas Lee Joon-ik, <Dongju; The Portrait of a Poet> follows up on Day 3 on Wednesday, September 19 at 7:00 PM, looking into the struggles and perseverance of a youthful poet during the Japanese colonial period.

For the finale on Day 4 on Thursday, September 20, the 1st OKFF invites two movies. <Little Forest> will screen at 6:00 PM and <The Spy Gone North> will screen on at 9:00PM. <Little Forest> directed by Yim Soon-rye and starring Kim Tae-ri, where the main character played by Kim, returns to her hometown to revisit her childhood memories through food.

<The Spy Gone North>, a blockbuster hit of summer 2018 in Korea. Directed by Yoon Jong-bin, <The Spy Gone North> is a spy thriller based on a true story, starring Hwang Jung-min as a South Korean spy who gains access to the highest ranks of the North Korean government to reveal their nuclear ambitions.





The 1st OKFF is completely free of admission but RSVP is mandatory.

Please note that reservations are on a first-come, first-serve basis so early reservations are highly encouraged.





For more information on ticketing and schedule details, please visit the Korean Cultural Centre website at: canada.korean-culture.org. For inquiries, please contact us at: 613-233-8008, canada@korea.kr









>> Line-up

i Can Speak (2017) Reservation Here New York Asian Film Festival -Audience Award

Screening Date: September 17th Time: 18:00 Location: Ottawa Art Gallery, Alma Duncan Salon

Director: KIM Hyun-suk Genre: Comedy Running Time: 118min Rating: PG-13 As NA Ok-boon scrutinizes around town and makes constant civil complaints, she is known as the ‘Goblin Granny’, and is a nightmare to the market merchants and the civil servants of the district office. Her biggest challenge after 20 years of filing complaints is Min-jae, a very principled entry level civil servant, who comes to stand up against the impetuous granny in her 70s with the eyes of a hawk for trouble. Granny NA is not only passionate about making civil complaints, but also about learning English. When she finds out Min-jae studied abroad and is proficient in English, she clings to him for help.



Microhabitat (2018) Reservation Here New York Asian Film Festival -Tiger Uncaged Award for Best Feature Film Busan International Film Festival : BIFF (2017) -CGV Arthouse Award Screening Date: September 18th Time: 19:00 Location: Cineplex Cinemas Lansdowne VIP(325 Marché Way, Ottawa) Director: JEON Go-woon Genre: Romance, Drama Running Time: 106min Rating: PG-13 Whiskey and cigarettes, the only things keeping her dignity in this city. Miso lives from day to day by housekeeping. Cigarettes and whiskey are the two things that get her through the day. When the government doubles the price of cigarettes, Miso decides to give up her house for cigarettes and whiskey and make a list of her friends to ask a favor to spare a room for her to sleep. She visits her dearest ex-band members that she hasn’t seen for a long time. DONGJU; The Portrait of a Poet (2016) Reservation Here Screening Date: September 19th Time: 19:00 Location: Cineplex Cinemas Lansdowne VIP(325 Marché Way, Ottawa) Director: Lee Joon-ik Genre: Drama Running Time: 110min Rating: PG-13 Short - Though his life was short, his poetry will remain eternal. - In the Japanese colonial era, young Dong-ju writes poems about the harsh reality of his life. As Japan’s policies get more serious, writing anything in Korean is prohibited. Just when the slight possibility of publishing his poems seems to have evaporated, a Japanese professor sees Dong-ju’s talent and suggests that he publishes his poems in English. But before his work is done, Dong-ju is suspected of anti-Japanese activities. Will Dong-ju’s dream fail and his poems vanish into thin air? Little Forest (2018) Reservation Here Screening Date: September 20th Time: 18:00 Location: Cineplex Cinemas Lansdowne VIP(325 Marché Way, Ottawa)

Director: YIM Soon-rye Genre: Drama Running Time: 103min Rating: PG-13 Have some break, delicious four seasons are waiting for you. No job, bad romance, and terrible grades… Nothing goes smooth in young Hye-won’s life in a big city. She puts her unsolved matters behind and impulsively returns to her hometown. There, she reunites with her childhood friends Jae-ha and Eun-sook who carry their unusual rural life on their own way. From that winter, Hye-won’s days are filled with simple, but peaceful moments; preparing each meal with her organic ingredients. All through the 4 seasons, Hye-won slowly finds the real pleasure of living a simple life, and realizes the genuine reason to return to her homeland. New spring is approaching, and she puts the first step in her brand new life. The Spy Gone North (2018) Reservation Here Cannes Film Festival -Midnight Screening(Out of Competition)

Screening Date: September 20th Time: 21:00 Location: Cineplex Cinemas Lansdowne VIP(325 Marché Way, Ottawa)

Director: YOON Jong-bin Genre: Drama Running Time: 137min Rating: PG-13

In 1993 in Korea, the only country where the Cold War continues, tensions surrounding the North’s development of nuclear weapons escalate. Seok-young Park, an army major in the South Korea military intelligence with a code name ‘Black Venus’ is assigned a mission to infiltrate the North Korean nuclear facility. Seok-young disguises himself as a South Korean businessman working on a collaborative project with North Korea, and approaches Myung-woon Lee, a North Korean high official based in Beijing. After laying down groundwork for years, Seok-young finally manages to win the North Korean ruling class’ trust and secure a contract for joint advertising. However, Seok-young soon discovers that both North and South Korea are making secret deals for their own interests in the 1998 South Korean presidential election.







