Im Kwon-Taek to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award

Dubai, December 8, 2007: An important part of the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) is its annual Lifetime Achievement Award that honours the career of an individual from Asia, the Arab world and the West. The fourth edition of the festival will recognize the great Korean director Im Kwon-Taek, screening two of his iconic works.

Im, who will be present at DIFF, is recognized as one of the founding figures of the 'Korean New Wave' movement, which gained international critical recognition and acclaim for Korean Cinema. He specialises in powerful and emotional stories told in stunning imagery, often focusing on the lives of artists. Im was recently awarded France's highest order, Knight of the Order of the Legion of Honour, launched by Napoleon in 1802.

Im's hundredth film, 2007's Beyond the Years, will screen with his Chihwaseon (Drunk on Women and Poetry), the 2002 film that shared the Best Director Award at Cannes with PT Anderson's Punch-Drunk Love.

As a neophyte director, Im initially aspired to make action films, but for budget reasons was forced to settle for low-budget period films, which he continued to make even when he gained access to more funding. Many of his films are permeated with 'han,' a blend of melancholy and rage that appears in numerous Korean works. His work is both popular and critically acclaimed: Sopyonje (1993) was the first domestic film to draw over a million viewers in Seoul alone.

Chihwaseon was also a critical success, for which Im was awarded an honorary Golden Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival in 2005. Chihwaseon depicts the life of Jang Seoung-up, a tempestuous and misunderstood artist who began as a destitute, abused child and became a respected artist whose rebellious nature poured out in lush, sumptuous landscapes and still-lifes. Critics surmise that the character of Jang represents Im himself. To tell the story of this unusual artist's life, Im employs a series of unfolding screen universes, each a world onto itself and yet intimately connected to the other.

Beyond the Years is another contemplative and beautiful period piece that is presumed to be an allegory for the anguish at the centre of Korean national identity. But the film is also a story of unrequited love between Song-hwa, a mysterious, ethereal pansori singer raised by an adoptive father, and her adoptive brother, Dong-ho. He runs away, unable to follow his father's itinerant lifestyle. Years later, he returns to the village of their youth, searching for Song-hwa.

The Lifetime Achievement Awards films will screen as part of DIFF 2007, which runs from December 9 to 16.

DIFF's Principal Sponsors are Dubai Duty Free, Dubai Pearl, Emirates and Jumeirah.  

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About DIFF: 
The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) was launched in December 2004 under the theme: Bridging Cultures. Meeting Minds.

DIFF is held under the honorary Chairmanship of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum. DIFF is a not-for-profit cultural event, presented and organised by the Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone Authority.

As the previous editions of DIFF have demonstrated, the Festival not only presents cinematic excellence from around the world, but is also an important high-profile platform for aspiring home-grown talent.

"Bridging Cultures. Meeting Minds," has been hailed by all as a unique and relevant theme to promote better understanding and mutual respect between different communities and countries.

Since its inception, DIFF has become an important meeting point for international and regional filmmakers and industry professionals setting the foundation for potential future collaborations.

The past three editions of DIFF have presented more than 250 films, documentaries and shorts from more than 48 countries.

DIFF 2006
In 2006 the festival took place at the magnificent Madinat Jumeirah resort. As a further commitment of DIFF's endeavours to facilitate greater opportunities for regional Arab talent, the Muhr Awards was launched. Another first for DIFF in 2006 was the setting up of the Industry Office, which was established with a view to exclusively assist the needs of all registered delegates.

DIFF 2007
The fourth edition of the Dubai International Film Festival will take place from December 9-16 and will present the best of Arab and international cinema in the feature film, shorts and documentary formats. Building on the success of last year, DIFF 2007 will also host the Muhr Awards and the Industry Office with new features.

For any further information and regular updates on DIFF 2007 please log on to www.dubaifilmfest.com

For further information, please contact:
Majid Wasi
Senior Account Manager
Jiwin
Tel:  +9714 361 3333
Fax: +9714 368 8001
majid.wasi@jiwin.ae

© Press Release 2007