Independent Korean film sales agent, M-Line Distribution is bringing a total of 26 films to Busan’s Asian Content & Film Market (ACFM) this year.
Eight of them are screening at the Busan International Film Festival and a handful have planned releases in the fourth quarter of 2022 or early 2023.
M-Line is handling sales on “Jiseok,” the documentary feature about the Busan festival’s co-founder and former head programmer who died in 2018 and now has a festival section named in his honor. The film plays at the festival as a BIFF Special Screening.
“A Letter From Kyoto” depicts the story of a widow who raised her three daughters after her husband passed away. One of her daughters chanced upon a letter written in Japanese which sparked her curiosity. As mother and daughter delved deeper into her mother’s past life, secrets buried for decades begin to surface. Directed by Kim Min-ju, this is her debut feature and stars Cha Mi-kyeong and Han Seon-hwa. The film was also selected for BIFF’s Panorama section.
The company also represents “Hail to Hell,” one of the Korean films in the festival’s prestige New Currents competition. The plot revolves two outcasts in school who planned to commit suicide but decided to take revenge on the girl who made their lives miserable. They change their minds and contemplate saving her from the weird religious institution she’s in. The movie stars Oh Woo-ri, Bang Hyo-rin and Jung Yi-ju (from the Netflix original, “Juvenile Justice”).
Other titles included in M-Line’s lineup are also chosen for BIFF’s Vision section. They include: “Peafowl,” the story of a transgender person who cuts ties with her family due to her identity. Needing money for surgery, she later returns to perform at her father’s memorial and collect his legacy; “The Dream Songs,” the story of two best friends and their jealousy; and “Mother Land,” a fantasy animation featuring a girl’s voyage in search of a red bear seen in her dreams.