Take a five day trip to Asia by seeing eleven brand new Asian films including the recently announced Collective Invention, The Chronicles of Evil, and The Accidental Detective!

Collective Invention

Written & Directed by Oh-Kwang Kwon, Starring: Cheon-hee Lee, Kwang Soo Lee, Bo-yeong Park, from South Korea with a running time of 92 minutes.

“It all starts when idealistic aspiring journalist Sang-won (Lee Chun-hee) accepts an on-spec assignment to investigate what is surely an urban legend: the rumour of a man who turned into a fish after participating in clinical trials for a major pharmaceutical company. It’s only upon interviewing the irreverent Ju-jin (Park Bo-young) that Sang-won discovers the legend is all too real: Ju-jin’s boyfriend Gu (Lee Kwang-soo) is a bona fide fish-man, complete with webbed fingers and a giant fish head. Gu rapidly becomes a media sensation, and an enterprising young human-rights lawyer endeavours to nail the scientists who rendered him a monster — though there are others who feel they deserve the Nobel Prize. It’s only upon reaching the height of his fame that Gu is caught doing something that reminds his fans that, for all his outward weirdness, he is all too human and perhaps not as perfect a role model as the world wants him to be.

Hero or con man? Victim or poseur? The more his renown grows, the more Gu comes to represent whatever is projected upon him.

Riddled with witty twists and goofy detours, Collective Invention examines how popular culture operates by its own capricious logic, and proposes that our best option is to flee the hype and simply get on with life — no matter how wacky that life becomes. – Giovanna Fulvi, tiff

The Chronicles of Evil

Written & Directed by Baek Woon-hak
Starring: Son Hayun-Joo, Daniel Choi, Park Seo-Joon, Ma Dong-Seok
Country: South Korea
Runtime: 102 min

Highly decorated homicide detective Choi Chang-sik has an enviable record and the respect of his peers. Days before a promotion, he dozes off on his way home after a celebratory drink with his colleagues. He wakes up to find that his taxi driver has taken him to a remote mountain trail and has pulled a knife on him. The two struggle, and Choi manages to kill the taxi driver in self-defense. Afraid that the incident would negatively impact his career, he covers up the crime scene and flees. The next day, the taxi driver’s dead body has been strung up on a crane in front of the police station, and Choi is assigned to the case amidst widespread media attention. Realizing that he is caught in a trap, he must now untangle past mistakes to figure out why he was targeted in the first place.

The Accidental Detective

Written & Directed by Kim Jung-Hoon
Starring: Kwon Sang-Woo, Sung Dong-Il, Seo Young-Hee, Park Hae-Joon
Country: South Korea
Runtime: 120 min

Kang Dae-man is a popular blogger who writes about cold cases, and head of a profiling online forum. But in real life, he runs a comic book shop, is always scolded by his wife and assumes the role of a glorified babysitter. His Sherlock Holmes-level deduction skills are of no use in his daily life. His only joy is hanging around at a local police station and interfering with ongoing police investigations. Nicknamed ‘the White Shark’, homicide veteran detective Noh Tae-su was a legend in his heyday but was demoted many years ago and is now forced to work under his junior. One day, a horrific murder takes place and Dae-man’s friend and Det. Noh’s partner, Joon-su, is framed for the murder. Time of death is clearly given away by the broken wristwatch of the victim, and the murder weapon was discovered wrapped in Joon-su’s clothing. Not wanting to see Joon-su rot in prison for 30 years, Dae-man and Det. Noh have no choice but to partner up and uncover the plot behind the murder. As more bodies surface without any solid connection between them, the two men know that they are running out of time…

Patron Pass ~ $250
• Reserved Seating
• Access to ALL Film Screenings
• Access to the Passholder Reception
– Engel & Völkers – 1323 State Street
– Tuesday May 10 – 5:30pm – 7:30pm
• Access to daily Patron Pass Happy Hours from 6:30pm – 7:30pm
• Pass is non-transferable

Cinephile Pass ~ $80
• Access to Eleven (11) Film Screenings (one screening of each film)
• Access to the Passholder Reception
– Engel & Völkers – 1323 State Street
– Tuesday May 10 – 5:30pm – 7:30pm

Individual Tickets
• Not available for purchase until film schedule is released in early May
• General Admission $10
• Senior/Student $8

Passes to The Wave Film Festival ~ Pan-Asia are available: Click here!

(Source: Press release courtesy of sbiff.org)