Chuseok came and went...like most men in my life.

Chuseok, the holiday foreign workers love to exploit for its vacation, has come and gone. I was busy helping put my friend Denise as she embarked on a photographic extravaganza. We spent four consecutive days primping beautiful ladies (and a handful of hot gents) from all corners of Korea in an act of momentary-model-mania!!! It was a lot of fun, great money--but man was it a lot of work. I am talking 10 to 12 hour days including my commute. Add into this wonderful mix that fact that Autumn has taken hold and the cool breeze is becoming a cold wind resulted in my annoyingly ill-timed tonsillitis. But it's okay. The week here at work was a breeze. And now it's over and I have the weekend to relax, right? Wrong. The Pusan International Film Festival has finally arrived! All the planning has finally come into fruition and in about 3 hrs I'll be boarding my train down south to experience some great cinema, a party or two, a shopping visit in the largest department store in the world, and a dip at the ever lauded SpaLand. More on all this throughout the weekend if I can, but most likely not until Monday. Until then, here are some pics of the models last weekend. Pictures will be uploaded to the site over time. The Foto Republic is a photography organization founded by photographer Denise Lejcar. Photography courtesy of Denise Lejcar, Makeup by J, and Hair & Styling by Moi

PIFF: The Verdict

Last night my boo and I enjoyed dinner with our friend Amy to discuss which films we planned on watching at the film festival. We tried to work it out so that we could meet for meals and share our film-viewing experiences, since our core lists were quite different. This morning was truly a rude awakening. Tickets went on sale at 9am. Dong Wook sat ready to go at some PC room, while I sat in my office trying to work...on biting my nails off from the anticipation. 9:30 passed and still no call, so I went ahead and phoned DW. No answer. I figured he was paying for the tickets or something. Then Amy Skype'd me with the bad news: she only managed 3 of her 8 films. Immediately I felt all was lost. We were going to end up seeing 'The Proposal' or insert cheesy movie title. That's when my phone began to jiggle. It was DW. We'd managed 3 out of 5 films, but he did think quickly and immediately purchased 1 of our back-up film choices. The kick in the cooter was that we didn't manage tickets to two of the films we looked forward to the most: Trick'r Treat and Air Doll. Doesn't matter. In the end, we'll be (hopefully) enjoying the celluloid-excellence of the following films:

1. City of Life and Death (Nanjing! Nanjing!)
2. Balibo
3. Paranormal Activity
4. Anita

I hadn't mentioned Balibo in my previous post, so here's the trailer. I hope they spread the Aussie on thick...like Kath & Kim but with Indonesians and guns.

PIFF: My Dream Screening Schedule

The Pusan International Film Festival is supposedly the most influential film festival in all of Asia. I've been once before and it was quite a time. It's odd how the very Korean town of Busan, which meets the sea at the south of the peninsula, seems very much European whenever the film festival rolls around. The beach is lit up, the glitterati are abundant, and the endless train of banners and movie posters lining the boardwalk give it a very Cannes feel. That's why this year Dong Wook and I will take the midnight train to Busan to give 'Korean Cannes' another whirl. Upon first glance of this year's program, let's just say I wasn't exactly sleeping in line for tickets. The line-up seemed "fine"...and as anyone in the industry knows, "fine" is not the most welcoming word. After a few days of really giving the endless lists of synopses their due, it was to my surprise that there were some real gems in there that my judgmental eyes failed to notice. With that, I now present to you (all three of you) my hopeful list of films to view, granted I can snag some tickets (complete with trailers!):

Friday, October 9th

Trick'r Treat - Produced by Bryan Singer and directed by Michael Dougherty, this darkly comedic horror film follows four stories on Halloween night: a high school principal who moonlights as a vicious serial killer, a young virgin whose quest for that someone special takes a gruesome turn, a group of teens who carry out a cruel prank with disastrous consequences, and a cantankerous old man who battles a mischievous trick-or-treating demon. I hope this is as crazy as it looks. Not usually a horror fan, but this looks like the perfect midnight movie...which is the hour it is playing. Starring Anna Paquin.

Saturday, October 10th

City of Life and Death - A film depicting the invasion, destruction, and massacre of Nanking by

Japan. The death-toll has never been confirmed, though it is believed that upwards of 300,000

people may have been massacred there. This film, judging only by its trailer, captures the

essence of the time, the horror of the atrocities, and the black and white film stock sends chills

down my spine. This is the one film this year that I am (forgive my phrasing) dying to see.

Air Doll - A Japanese film, directed by Kore-Eda Hirokazu, about a blow-up sex doll that comes

to life much to her owners surprise. She must learn to understand what having a soul is. Looks

quirky, cute, and could either be ridiculously bad, or heart-warmingly good.

Mai Mai Miracle - I know little about this film except that it's of a young girl with a funny curl

on her forehead who daydreams about the past. For now, it's this and the beautiful animation

that has convinced me to see it.

Sunday, October 11th

Paranormal Activity - This trailer speaks for itself. Oh mama, I wish this were playing late at

night!

Now, the next two films I have to choose between. They are in two completely different areas

of the city, yet they both interest me intensely. I know one will be more accessible to my in the

future, but which would I enjoy best as a closing film to my Pusan experience? Can you help me

decide? I'm hung up.

Mary & Max - This is the story of two very different pen-pals living in two completely different

worlds. It seems so incredibly charming, and I live and breath for animation...so it's difficult for

me to even consider passing this up (and the voice of Toni Collette, Eric Bana, and Philip

Seymour Hoffman?).

Anita - This is the only Spanish-language film on my list (slim pickin's) but man does it look like

a good one. The film focuses on the character of Anita, a young woman with Down syndrome,

who enjoys a life of happy routine. After a bomb explodes outside her shop, she wanders and

becomes lost, losing her routine and herself in the process? Will she be forever lost? This film

looks incredible in every way possible. The cinematography is gorgeous, the acting already

looks superb, and something tells me the story is a gem waiting to be discovered. To see or not

to see...that is the question.

So that's it. My list. I am now officially excited about this.

When the snow falls, I fly...

Get me the heck out of Korea when winter hits. It gets colder than a meat locker, without the wonderful smell of carcass. This year is a bit different than others, in regards to vacation time, thanks to our good friend swine flu. A well known fact in Korea to most foreign teachers is that we're not to leave the country unless we complete a 7-day quarantine upon return to Korea. Now, this may seem odd or inconvenient--and it is. However, it does serve a purpose and in a way lengthens our vacation by 7-days, which is fantastic. We are, after all, public servants and spend most of our time around children. Because of this we must take precautions to try and ensure not only our own health but the health of the more susceptible children. Though some of us may understand the reasoning it is a bit of a wrench in the proverbial gears. In the good old days we were able to travel during the Chuseok (Thanksgiving) holiday. This year, we may not because there's not enough time for quarantine. So we must be patient and travel to far off lands in the winter. I'm cheating a bit and Dong Wook and I have planned a trip to Busan for the first weekend of October. We'll be attending Asia's foremost film festival, the Pusan International Film Festival. We didn't manage to snag a fancy-schmancy hotel as we wanted, but we did manage lodging and train tickets at a modest price. This will tide us over (or so is our hope) until good ol' winter rolls around (how I dread you bitter cold). Keeping things bright and happy, I was welcomed with the news that my vacation runs from Christmas day to January 31st. Quite a sizeable vacation...but where to go? The choices are seemingly endless. I mean, I can afford for my boyfriend and I to go virtually anywhere. The only trouble is we don't want to spend our entire nest egg on yet another trip. Also, if we choose a less expensive area of the world (ie. South-East Asia) we can presumably stay longer and still save money. On the other hand, who wants to spend 2-weeks fearing tranny pick-pocketing and tummy-typhoon when we could spend a week getting our nails filed and culture polished in Europe? So, I may be jumping the gun a bit, but I'm a planner--what can I say? So far the list reads as such: Oahu, Osaka, Cambodia, Paris, Barcelona, Malaysia, and the Philippines. What to do, what to do? Sun and beaches on the cheap, or pretty cold in some of the most beautiful cities on earth? Grrr and harumph...