Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Feb 8, 2015 19:45:53 GMT -6
variety.com/2015/film/markets-festivals/berlin-kosslick-wolfson-stand-behind-battered-busan-festival-leaders-1201427219/
Kosslick, Wolfson Stand Behind Battered Busan Festival Leaders
Berlin festival chief Dieter Kosslick and outgoing Rotterdam boss Rutger Wolfson have thrown their weight behind the embattled management team of the Busan Intl. Film Festival.
Busan’s director Lee Yong-kwan has been under fire from the city authorities since last October’s festival. Last week the city mayor and senior members of the council issued a public statement calling for Lee to resign.
The rift was caused by the festival’s decision to program “The Truth Shall Not Sink With Sewol” (aka “The Diving Bell”), a Michael Moore-style documentary that accuses the national government of negligence and collusion after the ferry disaster that killed 300 schoolchildren in April last year.
The council denies that the film is the issue, and instead says that the festival management has failed to complete a lot of administrative tasks and reports – including the duty to give advanced notice of film selections to the council’s cultural committee.
For many in the industry, in Korea and abroad, the dispute has taken on larger proportions and, in the post-Charlie Hebdo-era, it has been characterized as a growing attack on freedom of expression.
“We are in solidarity with the director and the (selection) committee. And we will speak for the director and for the art… I still hope that there is a solution and so the whole board and the director can go on,” said Kosslick in an interview. “The film festival and the curator have to be independent. That’s the first thing with art.”
“We’re extremely concerned that the chairman of the organization committee (Lee) was asked to withdraw a film from its program in a civilized society, Korea. This should not be the case. And we’re following this very closely,” said Wolfson. “For a festival, an independent program is incredibly important. It’s practically impossible to ask for a festival to share the idea of the program beforehand with any organization. The Busan Intl. Film Festival should be free to make their festival they want to make and they need to make.”
Kosslick added: “Like my collegues from other festivals I show my solidarity with the Busan Film Festival. We defend the freedom of cinema and the freedom of the people that present cinema”
A truce of sorts was announced last week between the festival management and the city authorities, with Lee announced as staying on to head the festival’s supposedly celebratory 20th edition in October.
But since then a series of emails and documents have been leaked to the media, sparking more public accusations and counter-charges.
Sources close to the festival estimate the chances of all the festival selectors still being in place by October at no more than 50%.
Sonia Kil in Seoul contributed to this report.
Kosslick, Wolfson Stand Behind Battered Busan Festival Leaders
Berlin festival chief Dieter Kosslick and outgoing Rotterdam boss Rutger Wolfson have thrown their weight behind the embattled management team of the Busan Intl. Film Festival.
Busan’s director Lee Yong-kwan has been under fire from the city authorities since last October’s festival. Last week the city mayor and senior members of the council issued a public statement calling for Lee to resign.
The rift was caused by the festival’s decision to program “The Truth Shall Not Sink With Sewol” (aka “The Diving Bell”), a Michael Moore-style documentary that accuses the national government of negligence and collusion after the ferry disaster that killed 300 schoolchildren in April last year.
The council denies that the film is the issue, and instead says that the festival management has failed to complete a lot of administrative tasks and reports – including the duty to give advanced notice of film selections to the council’s cultural committee.
For many in the industry, in Korea and abroad, the dispute has taken on larger proportions and, in the post-Charlie Hebdo-era, it has been characterized as a growing attack on freedom of expression.
“We are in solidarity with the director and the (selection) committee. And we will speak for the director and for the art… I still hope that there is a solution and so the whole board and the director can go on,” said Kosslick in an interview. “The film festival and the curator have to be independent. That’s the first thing with art.”
“We’re extremely concerned that the chairman of the organization committee (Lee) was asked to withdraw a film from its program in a civilized society, Korea. This should not be the case. And we’re following this very closely,” said Wolfson. “For a festival, an independent program is incredibly important. It’s practically impossible to ask for a festival to share the idea of the program beforehand with any organization. The Busan Intl. Film Festival should be free to make their festival they want to make and they need to make.”
Kosslick added: “Like my collegues from other festivals I show my solidarity with the Busan Film Festival. We defend the freedom of cinema and the freedom of the people that present cinema”
A truce of sorts was announced last week between the festival management and the city authorities, with Lee announced as staying on to head the festival’s supposedly celebratory 20th edition in October.
But since then a series of emails and documents have been leaked to the media, sparking more public accusations and counter-charges.
Sources close to the festival estimate the chances of all the festival selectors still being in place by October at no more than 50%.
Sonia Kil in Seoul contributed to this report.