‘Close-up: Hong Sangsoo’

Hong Sang Soo is one of those singular filmmakers who deserves a retrospective every 3-4 years. How else can you keep abreast of the cinematic delights he continues to produce that are lauded at filmfestivals around the world but rarely make it to our theaters? For two weeks, Bozar offers an extensive programme consisting of nine films featuring some of Hong's earliest works and a selection of the films he made in his five very prolific most recent years. Although Hong Sang Soo won't be present himself, there will be guest speakers to enrich this incomplete retrospective.

After receiving education in filmmaking in both Seoul and the United States, Hong Sang-soo first gained attention in 1996 with The Day a Pig Fell into the Well. The Power of Kangwon Province marked his debut at Cannes, where he became a regular. Over the years, he has earned numerous international awards for his work. Hong Sang-soo has crafted a rich, sophisticated filmography, having directed over 30 films. His work blends humour with deep explorations of everyday life, psychology, and metaphysics in subtle, elegant ways. With each film he further deepens his thinking, adding new ways of seeing and pieces of thought, and seems to form a more comprehensive philosophy of life, therefor making his work best appreciated as a whole. Besides being a professor of screenwriting and directing in Seoul, he remains one of the most inventive and prolific filmmakers in contemporary cinema.