The Korean Japanese Co-Production Forum organized by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC, Chairman: KIM Eui-suk) held on December 9th and 10th came to a successful close. It was held in Busan at the Novotel Ambassador hotel, with about 30 film industry veterans participating. This was the first major event staged by KOFIC since its office's move to Busan in October.
 
The first day was moderated by Jonathan KIM of the Hanmac Culture Corporation, the producer of Silmido (2003) and To Catch a Virgin Ghost (2004). KIM introduced KITTA Toshihiro from Dragonheart International, who has been working on co-productions with Korea for some time, starting with PARK Chan-wook’s I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK in 2006. KITTA discussed the major current trends in the Japanese film industry and how most co-productions with Korea begin with Japanese literature. This is due to Japanese producers trusting the source material and expecting a strong plot while Japanese audiences will also be drawn to a film with a familiar storyline. Although it may be hard to find funding with an original script, KITTA encouraged filmmakers by claiming that it is not impossible, and emphasized what matters most is that a film is entertaining.
 
Adding onto KITTA's comments was the famous screenwriter of Linda Linda Linda (2005), KOSUKE Mukai, who expounded on the importance of screenplays. He believes that from the standpoint of Japanese filmmakers, co-productions with Korea simplify casting during pre-production due to a larger pool of Korean actors to choose from and also as they are eager to explore different roles. Not only that, he supports Korea-Japanese co-productions because of the differences in each country's film development. Japanese film has been steadily developing for about a century, whereas the Korean film industry has grown exponentially in the last decade. The amalgamation of the two film cultures can be mutually beneficial as they can share techniques to create new and interesting works. It is important to note that not many Korean films were extremely successful in Japan and vice versa. What the next generation of filmmakers should look for is ways to improve co-productions.
 
KITTA and KOSUKE discussed the reasons why Korean filmmakers are having a hard time finding Japanese partners for co-productions. After the success of a couple of Korean films in Japan, Japanese film distribution companies decided to buy titles solely based on their casts, which consequently impacted the reputation of Korean films. Thus, Japanese producers and sales companies became more cautious and were reluctant to jump into a project unless it looked like a guaranteed box office hit. This is why they're more likely to come on board if the project is based on a Japanese book or if there is a publisher or a broadcaster who is already attached to the project.
 
The next day was moderated by Romeo NOH, who produced Memories of Murder (2003), The Big Swindle (2004) and A Moment to Remember (2004). As the sessions for the second day were open to the public, the seminar room was filled with film industry delegates as well as filmmakers and film students.
 
Following the discussion from the previous day on the importance of screenplays, OKADA Wataru of the large publishing company Kadokawa gave a talk on what publishing companies look for before signing with a film. The most important element is the potential for the film to be successful. Even if the book was a huge success in Japan, they will not give permission for the text to be transcribed into a script unless they fell strongly about it succeeding in as a film version.
 
YAMAGAMI Tetsujiro, founder of Siglo Ltd. and who is known for producing Wandering Home (2010) as well as distributing Old Partner (2009) and Poetry (2010), also noted that organizing a production committee in Japan will help to expedite the process of making co-production films.
  Soon after, a case study of Genome Hazard (2013) was presented by the director of the film, KIM Sung-su. Director KIM was able to share his personal journey of how his co-production film was drafted, produced, changed, executed and is now finally ready for release. Some of the larger conflicts he had to face included finding finances, stabilizing communication between filmmaker and cast/staff, as well as taking cultural differences into consideration. To receive the rights from the Japanese publisher for the script wasn't as hard as the book wasn't well known. But to find a Japanese company to back the project proved difficult. As finances are limited, KIM had to work hard to stay within budget. This included cutting down shoot dates, changing locations and also using more Korean staff in comparison to Japanese staff. In order to reduce any conflicts within the crew, KIM decided to use a different style of directing from the one that he's used to. He created a new atmosphere by being open and easy-going. Hence the relationship between KIM and the crew, as well as the cast was mutually friendly. KIM also worried about how the two different sets of audiences would receive the film. The companies that supported this project would need to give approval, and, unfortunately, trying to satisfy both sides was impossible. In order to make sure that the film is projected in the best way possible, KIM made sure to get as much feedback as possible from individuals of both Korean and Japanese backgrounds and paid close attention to the script as well as the subtitle translation.
 
For the past 10 years, 30% of Korea’s co-productions have been with Japan. As this constitutes a large proportion of Korean co-productions, it is important for such an event to be organized to share knowledge and to build an even stronger relationship between the two industries.

By June KIM