The Next Director: Hong Sang-Soo
As part of BAM's ongoing Next Director series honoring new and upcoming talent, BAM presents the complete works of Hong Sang-Soo, one of the leaders of the South Korean film renaissance. While Hong’s films beg comparison to greats Rohmer and Antonioni, he also maintains a unique voice that is stripped of sentiment, revealing the complex and ambiguous nature of modern relationships. All films in Korean with English subtitles. Presented in cooperation with the Korean Film Forum.

The Day a Pig Fell Into the Well (Daijiga umule pajinnal) (1997) 115min NY Premiere!
Thu, Oct 30 at 4:30, 6:50*, 9:10pm
*Free social mixer after screening
Directed by Hong Sang-Soo
With Kim Eui-Sung, Park Jin-Sung
" ... an edgy sample of a literate streak and formal daring in new Seoul cinema." —Variety
A remarkably assured debut, Hong’s first film blends improvisation with carefully staged comedy and bursts of dream sequences with tempered reality. Focused loosely on a writer’s affairs with women, the film’s angst-ridden characters drift through Seoul, searching for connections.

The Power of Kangwon Province (Kangwon-do ui him) (1998) 110min
Fri, Oct 31 at 4:30, 6:50, 9:10pm
Directed by Hong Sang-Soo
With Baek Jong-Hak, Oh Yun-Hong
A two-part film focusing on two different groups of friends traveling through the mountains of Kangwon. Like all of Hong’s work, the film offers no clear explanations or storyline, relying instead on mood and character to tell an elliptical tale.

Turning Gate (Saenghwalui balgyeon) (2002) 115min
Sat, Nov 1 at 2, 4:30, 6:50, 9:10pm
Directed by Hong Sang-Soo
With Yi Ji-Weon, Chu Sang-Mi, Kim Hak-Su
" The movie captures the meandering confusion and intensity of being young and adrift and having unlimited romantic opportunity with a sensitivity that seduces you..." —The New York Times
Hong returns to shooting in color, and his exquisite palette brings a beautiful sadness to this story. A washed-up actor begins an extended search for love, but finds himself emotionally unable to commit. Yi Je-Weon and Chu Sang-Mi offer two different romantic possibilities, and their remarkable performances anchor the film.

Virgin Stripped Bare By Bachelors (Oh! Su-jeong) (2001) 126min
Sun, Nov 2 at 2, 4:30, 7, 9:30pm
Directed by Hong Sang-Soo
With Jeong Bo-seok, Mun Seong-keun, Lee Eun-ju
One of the hits of last year’s New York Korean Film Festival, Virgin addresses sexual politics head on. The film features multiple points of view that take the battles of the sexes beyond simple politics and into the abstract ways in which men and women clash. Hong’s starkly beautiful images take on an almost archival quality with the rich black and white cinematography.