Independent films making their own way onto mainstream screens

[한겨레] Big theaters tend to only show commercial; independents trying to break from this isolation

By Song Ho-jin, staff reporter

Campaigns to rent out theaters to screen independent films are again causing a buzz.

"A local audience rented out the CGV theaters in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang (Nov.8), North Pohang, North Gyeongsang (Nov. 9) and Jeju (Nov. 13) to watch the film," Go Young-jae, a representative of Studio Neurimbo, distributor of the documentary film, "MB's Memory," which looks back on the five years of the President Lee Myung-bak administration, said on Nov. 2.

A similar phenomenon occurred when the independent documentary, "2 Doors," depicting the Yongsan disaster, was released over the summer. Since that film was screened at a small number of theaters, viewers launched a campaign to rent out theaters under the catch phrase, "Occupy Theaters." Backed by this support, "2 Doors" attracted 72,800 viewers.

As "MB's Memory" is being screened in only 11 theaters nationwide, people have started renting nearby theaters to screen the film. The distributor is also carrying out so-called "community screening" event through to Nov. 14, which sends out the film video file at a cost of 4,000 won (about US$3.50) per person if a group of more than five apply for the screening. The company said the number of people who have applied for theater rental or community screening so far has surpassed 2,000.

"MB's Memory," which sets forth the current president as its protagonist, deftly tells how Lee Myung-bak attracted voters in the presidential campaign in 2007 and how he changed over the following five years. In the third week of its release, the film attracted about 7,600 viewers and it is expected to exceed 10,000, the mark representing a box office hit for an independent film. It ranked third in terms of the percentage of seats sold in theaters domestic and international films on Oct. 30, and has stayed within the top 10 since its release.

Among the multiplex theaters, only CGV has four theaters of its Movie Collage devoted to independent and art films. Go Young-jae pointed out, "The reality is that multiplex theaters only screen commercial films while independent movies are further isolated and screened only at art house cinemas."

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