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Harking back to those erotic thrillers of yore, especially from the 1980s and 90s, writer-director Joy Wilkinson’s 7 Keys, her debut feature, starts out full of promise and potential — much like the impromptu hook-up that gets the plot rolling. Unfortunately, like many an ill-starred love match, what follows is disappointing as things evolve in a lurid and yet strangely predictable direction. But while it all goes sour and south in the last act, there are definitely sparks of originality in the early running, supported by a brace of strong performances from Emma McDonald and Billy Postlethwaite, who deserve better than what the script gives them to work with.

Premiering in the Visions section at SXSW, this low-budget striver of a feature may find berths with streamers, and ought to at least attract attention from casting directors looking for new talents.

McDonald and Postlethwaite aren’t entirely unknown quantities. The...

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South Korean film organizations are heaping criticism on the Venice Film Festival in response to a decision to screen the final film of the late Korean auteur Kim Ki-duk despite the multiple sexual abuse allegations he was facing prior to his death.

Kim died from Covid-19-related complications in Latvia in 2020. He had lived his last years mostly abroad after a wave of sexual assault allegations against him during the height of Korea’s #MeToo movement tarnished his reputation at home. At the time of his death, the director was at work on what would be his final feature, an Estonia, Kyrgyzstan and Latvian project titled Call of God. The film was completed posthumously by Kim’s Estonia-based collaborator, filmmaker and producer Artur Veeber. The work will receive its world premiere in a coveted out-of-competition slot in Venice on Sept. 6.

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter,...

Giovani Borba’s “Empty House,” Mar Pescio’s “That Weekend” and Martin Desalvo’s “El Ciego, Border With Death” will feature in a notable Sanfic Goes to Cannes pix-in-post showcase at July’s Marché du Film.

Two further films, both psychological dramas, bring large breath to the selection: Flavio Botelho’s tragic but ultimately life-celebratory “The Life That’s Left”; and “Patient(ly),” a searing critique of Chile’s healthcare system.

A new talent springboard, Sanfic Goes to Cannes is the first time Sanfic has made the Marché’s Goes to Cannes films-at-rough-cut strand. That marks just the latest expansive move for Sanfic, Chile’s Santiago Intl. Film Festival. Framing five titles which all screened at Sanfic Industria’s Work in Progress in March, the Cannes lineup also marks fruit of a bold, counter-intuitive move by Sanfic Industria.

As other festivals pushed back to later in 2021, Sanfic’s industry arm moved into the breach,...

The article was originally published in Estonian on Sirp

The recent death of Kim Ki-duk (20 December 1960 – 11 December 2020) in Riga, Latvia caused a rather intense reaction in the (online) cinema world, mostly revolving around the “fight” on whether he should be remembered as an auteur or as a man who attacked his actresses, with the voices for both being quite numerous and the fact that the S. Korean have been living in Europe in a sort of self-exile putting more fuel in the fire. Before we discuss his ending however, it would be interesting to take a look at where and how everything begun.

“Dissolve” which he has just finished shooting before he died would be his 25th film, including a short one he directed (along 69 more directors) for the 70th anniversary of Venice Film Festival. His long path however, had a number of twists and turns before he reached that point.

By Leandro E. Seta

Written and directed by Kim Ki-duk, winner of the Berlin Silver Bear among many other prices. “Bin jip” or “3-iron”, has won fifteen international awards, including Film Critics’ awards in Korea, San Sebastian and Valladolid. With its sensitive story and silently crafted narrative, it was very well received in Europe and in America, where it is already considered a classic.

Working placing food flyers on the neighborhood door knobs has a collateral benefit: predicting accurately which of those houses is inhabited and which has been empty for 2 or 3 days with no one picking up the flyers from the door. This information has an elemental value for our drifter hero Tae-suk, played by Lee Hyun-kyoon. He takes advantage of the empty house of a vacationing family or the apartment of a photographer on business travel and makes them his home for a couple of days.

Daisuke Goto is one of the contemporary masters of the pink film, particularly through his involvement in productions like “A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn” (director) and “The Muse” (script-writer) and the plethora of Pink Film Awards he was won through both capacities. “Blind Love” is another testament to his prowess, while it is currently also available from The British Film Institute’s BFI Player.

The Muse is available from Pink Eiga By Using the code AMPFriend, you get a 25% price-off on all products of the website including subscription

The story revolves around a divorced ventriloquist, Daisuke, whose life is in shambles, as exhibited in the first scenes of the film, where he has sex with his ex-wife but is forced to pay, and by the way his profession seems to have very little appeal to audiences anymore. Daisuke works in a small club of shorts, run by his only and best friend,...

Kim Ki-duk

Kim Ki-Duk, one of South Korea's most acclaimed directors, whose work was fundamental in attracting international attention to its modern cinematic output, has died at the age of 59. He was hospitalised in Riga after travelling to Latvia to buy a house in the coastal town of Jumala, and passed away from complications of Covid-19.

According to Variety, Kim had been intending to move to the country and shoot a film in neighbouring Estonia.

Working on tiny budgets in order to preserve his independence, Kim produced films which were striking in their individuality, often tackling difficult or controversial subjects, or simply breaking the unspoken rules of cinema. He was known for creating intense character interactions with very little dialogue, for breaking cultural taboos and for using shockingly violent imagery. The Isle and 3-Iron dealt with sadomasochistic romances, Samaritan Girl and Bad Guy explored exploitation in sex...

The director, who faced accusations of sexual misconduct, died while being treated in Latvia

Controversial South Korean film-maker Kim Ki-duk has died aged 59 in a Latvian hospital, where he was being treated for Covid-19. The news was initially reported by Vitaly Mansky, director of Latvia’s Artdocfest film festival, and later confirmed by Kim’s family in the Korean media. Kim was understood to be developing a film project set in the Baltic region when he became ill.

Born in 1960, Kim made his name with a series of violent yet aesthetically challenging features, including The Isle (2000) and Bad Guy (2001) – the former of which was sanctioned by the British Board of Film Classification for animal cruelty. Subsequently he became a fixture on the international festival circuit with films such as Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter ... and Spring (2003) and 3-Iron (2004), and he would go on to win the Golden Lion at Venice with his 2012 film Pieta,...

Award-winning filmmaker died in Latvia, according to reports.

South Korean filmmaker Kim Ki-duk has died in Latvia aged 59 after contracting Covid-19, according to reports.

The award-winning director had travelled to the Baltic country last month and intended to buy a house near the capital, Riga, according to local media. He reportedly died this morning (December 11) from Covid-19 complications.

Kim’s death was confirmed to local outlet Delfi.lv by ArtDocFest/Riga director Vitaly Mansky and his interpreter, Daria Krutova.

The Estonian Film Institute confirmed to Screen that Kim intended to shoot a new feature in the country titled Rain, Snow,...

South Korean filmmaker Kim Ki-duk has died from complications arising from Covid-19 while in Latvia, according to local sources. He was 59.

The filmmaker died in the early hours this morning local time at a Latvian hospital, where he was being treated for coronavirus. He is understood to have traveled to the Baltic country with the intention of buying a house in order to obtain a residency permit. The news was confirmed by Vitaly Mansky, the Russian documentary filmmaker who lives in Latvia and runs the local ArtDocFest, and the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been quoted as confirming the director’s death in Korean media reports.

Born on December 20, 1960, in Bonghwa, South Korea, Kim established himself as a director of high-end, often dark and controversial art house cinema that made waves on the international festival circuit. He also had controversies in his personal life and was accused of sexual...

MADRID -- Korean film director Kim Ki-duk has won the 7th International Federation of Film Critic's (FIPRESCI) Best Film Award 2005 for his Bin-Jip (3-Iron), organizers of the San Sebastian International Film Festival announced Wednesday. Ki-duk, who won the Silver Lion for Best Director for the film in Venice last year, will receive the award Sept. 15 at the opening gala of the San Sebastian festival. 3-Iron takes its name from the lesser-used golf club and tells the love story about a young man who fixes up the houses he squats in. The prize -- created to back audacious, original and personal cinema -- is decided by FIPRESCI's 300 members worldwide.

MADRID -- Korean film director Kim Ki-duk has won the 7th International Federation of Film Critic's Best Film Award 2005 for his Bin-Jip (3-Iron), organizers of the San Sebastian International Film Festival announced Wednesday. Ki-duk, who won the Silver Lion for best director at Venice last year, will receive the award Sept. 15 at the opening gala of the San Sebastian festival. 3-Iron takes its name from the golf club and tells the story of a young man who fixes up the houses he squats in. The prize -- created to back audacious, original and personal cinema -- is decided by critics group's 300 members worldwide.

GOLD COAST, Queensland -- Iranian director Bahman Ghobadi's Lakposhtha ham parvaz mikonand (Turtles Can Fly) was the most popular film with audiences at the Melbourne International Film Festival this year. MIFF organizers, announcing audience favorites in a statement Wednesday, said that second place went to Look Both Ways, the debut feature by Australian director Sarah Watts. Ways also won the top audience prize at the recent Brisbane International Film Festival. Other titles that resonated with MIFF audiences included many direct from the Festival de Cannes. Among these were Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's Palme D'Or winner L'Enfant (The Child), Miranda July's You, Me and Everyone We Know, Michael Haneke's Cache (Hidden), Greg McLean's Wolf Creek and Kim Ki-duk's 3-Iron.

SYDNEY -- Leading independent distributor Hopscotch revealed its 2005 lineup Thursday, a slate hailed by co-owner Troy Lum as festival-lauded and director-driven. Set for release are Murderball, about wheelchair rugby players; Gregg Araki's Mysterious Skin; Wong Kar Wei's 2046; German smash hit Der Untergang (The Downfall); and Kim Ki-Duk's Bin-jip (3-Iron). In addition, Hopscotch will handle an Australian film, Craig Monahan's Peaches, starring Hugo Weaving, Jacqueline McKenzie and newcomer Emma Lung. Hopscotch, shared by partners Lum, Sandie Don and Frank Cox, almost doubled its first year boxoffice takings in 2003 of AUS$13 million to AUS$22 million ($17 million) in 2004. Successful releases in 2003-04 included Fahrenheit 9/11, Goodbye Lenin!, Nowhere in Africa, Somersault, Spellbound and Touching the Void.

SYDNEY -- Continuing to build its reputation for acquiring quality art house product with crossover potential to a mainstream audience, Australian independent distributor Hopscotch has acquired four new films for release here: Kim Ki-duk's 3-IRON, Oliver Hirschbiegel's Downfall, Gregg Araki's Mysterious Skin and Carlos Sorin's Bombon. Hopscotch launched some 18 months ago with titles including Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11.

Screened at the Toronto International Film Festival

Korean arthouse favorite Kim Ki-duk shows a slice of dysfunctional city life with his latest treatise, 3-Iron.

In Samaritan Girl, he tackled Christian redemption and social tragedy through wayward schoolgirls and their sexual amorality. In 3-Iron it's materialistic and possessive adults who get a critical spanking. The result though is slightly less interesting and less appealing even as arthouse fare.

However, the premise is a kick. A transient young man spends his days breaking into people's empty homes. But instead of robbing them, he simply partakes of the vacationing resident's lives for a few days...

TORONTO -- A flurry of wheeling and dealing marked the opening weekend of the Toronto International Film Festival, with a slew of pacts closing and further features primed to sell in the coming days. Lions Gate Films won a bidding war for the star-studded ensemble drama Crash, while Sony Pictures Classics closed deals on two foreign titles -- Kim Ki-duk's 3-Iron and Jan Hrebejk's Up and Down. Meantime, Palm Pictures targeted the Iraq-set Gunner Palace as the fest' first documentary buy. Other films generating heat North of the Border now include the feature docu Three of Hearts, Ra'up McGee's homage to '60s French film noir Automne and the U.K. import My Summer of Love. As expected, the hotly tipped Crash -- a Los Angeles-set ensemble drama featuring Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, Brendan Fraser, Ludacris, Thandie Newton, Ryan Phillippe, Jennifer Esposito and Larenz Tate -- prompted instantaneous offers from buyers after its Friday premiere in the Special Presentations section.