"Into Fire" to close Hawaii int'l film fest

Korean war pic "Into Fire," starring Hallyu star Kwon Sang-woo and Cha Seung-won, has been chosen as the closing film for the 30th Hawaii International Film Festival, according to the film's producer Taewon Entertainment on Wednesday.

Taewon announced in a press release that the film received an official invitation to show at the film fest, to be held in Hawaii from October 14 to October 24, to close the event.

Director Lee Jae-han as well as four main actors in the film -- namely Kwon Sang-woo, Cha Seung-won, Kim Seung-woo and T.O.P from idol group Big Bang -- will be attending the official screening at the event scheduled for October 22.

The film has been garnering heated attention from the media recently, particularly when Kwon and Lee took part in a special seminar at the prestigious Stanford University's Asia-Pacific Research Center last month.

Noted film critic Scott Foundas, who writes movie reviews for numerous U.S. publications including The New York Times and has an online column on Indiewire.com, gave the war drama high marks after seeing it at Stanford. He said the film has a universal appeal and even compared Kwon to the late Hollywood rebel James Dean.

The film's commercial success overseas, particularly in the U.S., is likely to increase the odds for a first-ever Academy Award nomination for a Korean motion picture. So far, no Korean film has made the Oscar nominations for Best Foreign Film.

"Into Fire" is based on the true story of 71 student soldiers who fought during the Korean War, which marks its 60th anniversary this month.

The film opens in Korea today.

Reporter : Lynn Kim lynn2878@
Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@