Korean Film Downunder 3: Longing for a Ko-production

This piece was included in the White Paper on Australia in the Asian Century. Its more of my musings about Korea and Australian relations through film, though my bias in this clearly comes through! Hope you find it interesting.

The time has come for Australia to look to the powerhouse of the Asia Pacific region in regards to the entertainment industry. No longer can our focus simply be locked on to the lustrous billions of potential opportunities that China seems to hold over us. The real leader in the region, the real leader in the industry, is South Korea. 

We were close ...

Unfortunately Australia still does not have co- production agreements with key nations in Asia with respect to the film industry, namely Japan, Thailand & South Korea. With such a great focus placed on China, these other giants seem to have been left behind. After all this is the “Asian Century” and not the “Chinese Century”, so there is no reason that our focus should lie with the sleeping giant. Now the fact that Screen Australia and the Australian entertainment industry have acknowledged the potential with co-productions and distribution in China is fine, but it cannot be our sole entrance into partnering with the region. (Singapore, our only other partner in Asia, could not be classified as a powerhouse, and to date only 1 feature has resulted from that co-production agreement). There is such great potential for content to be exported in both directions, and Korea is the leader in this case. 

but not close enough

Numerous Korean television shows, movies and TV commercials continue to shoot in the beautiful locations of Australia (for a list check out Brian Yecies and Shim Aegyung’s article Hallyuwood Down Under), but the product is entirely Korean. Our endless lands and wide open golf courses are things Koreans crave, in a country that is mountainous, and space is hard to find. I believe that it needs to become a priority for Screen Australia, the Korean Film Council, and any other parties that could assist the establishment of such a co-production (such as the Australia Korea Foundation) to make a co-production a priority. 

The Korean Industry Looks Beyond It's Borders

Below is an interview I had with Sandy George of SBS Film blogs, which was published around November in response to KOFIC's announcement of its plans for developing the Korean film industry. While I was speculating, I hope you find it interesting! You can read the original article here

Korea’s film expansion could 
flow through to Australia

04 November 2011 | Interview By Sandy George
A new 'mega-studio' in Korea looks to increase the country's international co-productions.

Artistic Director of the Korean Film Festival in Australia (KOFFIA), Kieran Tully, believes the ambitious new plan to expand the size of the South Korean film industry by 25% by 2013 can only be good for his festival and for building bridges between the Australian and Korean industries, and between Korean films and Australian audiences. “With a goal to be world class and to focus on supporting creative content, then this plan is surely a benefit for the films we can select for our film festival, film night or library database,” said Tully, who works out of the Korean Cultural Office in Sydney.