'A City of Sadness' 4K Korean Premiere... 2nd Seoul Art House Film Festival to be Held!

The 2nd Seoul Art House Film Festival will be held from November 19 to 23 at CGV Art House Yongsan I-Park Mall, Apgujeong, Seoul Art Cinema, Cinecube, and Emu Cinema. As the festival tickets went on sale, they quickly sold out amidst the anticipation of cinephiles, currently recording over 7,000 audience reservations, establishing itself as a representative film festival of Seoul. Organized by the import and distribution company MNM International, the 'Seoul Art House Film Festival' honors art theaters and highlights the cinematic vision of contemporary filmmakers, shedding light on great works in film history and 'art house films'.

The 2nd Seoul Art House Film Festival features a program consisting of 24 films by 14 creators. The most notable work is 'A City of Sadness' by the master Hou Hsiao-hsien, which recorded sold-out screenings in previous editions. 'A City of Sadness' delicately captures the tragedies of modern history centered around a family and won the Golden Lion, the highest award at the 46th Venice International Film Festival. This work was remastered in 4K in 2022, and despite many efforts from domestic film festivals and importers, it repeatedly missed screening opportunities. The Seoul Art House Film Festival has put significant effort into inviting this work for this year's festival, confirming its screening last February. Additionally, an official Korean subtitled version (DCP) was produced in collaboration with a Taiwanese production company.

Yang In-mo, the programmer of the Seoul Art House Film Festival, expressed, "Hou Hsiao-hsien is one of the most respected film directors. The '4K screening of A City of Sadness' has felt like a long-awaited dream for cinephiles and the industry in Korea, and I am delighted to be able to screen this work in the year marking the 45th anniversary of the director's film debut."