Overview
When the Korean Film Festival in Australia made its debut in 2010, giving the country the cinema showcase that movie lovers definitely knew it needed, it kicked off in Sydney. Since then, the fest has grown and toured, but the Harbour City has always remained a focus. In 2024, in fact — 14 years after launching — the New South Wales capital is the sole location for KOFFIA proper.
From Thursday, August 22–Tuesday, August 27, Event Cinema George Street will welcome a feast of Korean movies; however, this year's event won't also hit up Melbourne and Brisbane, as it has on recent runs. Instead, the festival is launching the KOFFIA Touring Program, making stops in Canberra, Burnside, Benalla and Alice Springs from late-August till mid-October.
Sydneysiders can look forward to a broader range of exclusive screenings, while folks where the touring lineup is headed are in for a four-film program. For the latter, there'll be another bonus: outside of Sydney, seeing a KOFFIA flick will be free.
At all five spots, FAQ will open the fest, which means getting started with a family comedy that follows an elementary-school student broadening his understanding of the world via a talking bottle of rice wine. All locations will also catch serial-killer mystery-thriller Don't Buy the Seller, the canine-adoring Dog Days with Minari Oscar-winner Youn Yuh-jung and the friendship focused Picnic.
Only in the Harbour City, cinephiles will be treated to Dr Cheon and the Lost Talisman, as adapted from the Naver webtoon; rom-coms Love Reset (with Project Wolf Hunting's Jung So-min) and Single in Seoul (with Cobweb's Lim Soo-jung); and the based-on-a-true-tale trio of Citizen of a Kind (an action-comedy about taking down a voice phishing scam), Troll Factory (which dives into election intervention) and The Boys (about wrongful convictions for a robbery-homicide).
Also in Sydney only, first-time FAQ filmmaker Kim Da-Min, fellow debutant and Dog Days director Kim Deok-min and Picnic's Kim Yong-gyun (Reset) will be in attendance.
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Korean Film Festival in Australia 2024 Dates:
Korean Film Festival in Australia
Thursday, August 22–Tuesday, August 27 — Event Cinema George St, Sydney
KOFFIA Touring Program
Saturday, August 31–Sunday, September 1 — Palace Electric Cinema, Canberra
Tuesday, September 10–Friday, September 13 — The Regal Theatre, Burnside
Saturday, September 14–Sunday, September 15 — Benalla Cinema, Benalla
Wednesday, October 9–Saturday, October 12 — Alice Springs Cinema, Alice Springs
The Korean Film Festival in Australia 2024 runs in Sydney from Thursday, August 22–Tuesday, August 27, with the KOFFIA Touring Program hitting Canberra, Burnside, Benalla and Alice Springs between August–October. For more information or to buy tickets, head to the KOFFIA website.