Queer film festival banned
In a related event, the Pusan International Film Festival in October gave only "restricted" screenings, closed to the ordinary public, for Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai's Happy Together. The gay-themed movie has already been
Freedom of speech campaigns have intensified, since the regime repressed two September film festivals dealing with homosexuality and with human rights.
The Ist Seoul Queer Film and Video Festival was banned on September 19, two weeks before it was due to open. According to Festival Director Seo Dongjin, "The local government of the Soedaemun district in Seoul threatened to confiscate the projection equipment and the films, to fine us two million won (US$22,000), and to jail us for three years.
"However, they are not the only authority involved in this situation. If vou want rity involved in this situation. I you want to hold a film festival in Korea, you must get your films passed by the national censors first. And censorship laws and regulations forbid the screening of any films about homosexuality.
"Actually, we did try to find a way to open our festival legally. We submitted four representative titles to the censorship authority to see if this would be possible. anthority to see if this would be possible. They rejected Derek Jarman's Jubilee, Nancy Meckler's Alive and Kicking, and Mel Chionglo's Midnight Dancers. Dirk Shafer's Man of the Year, was the only one they said was legally OK. Actually, I think that one is the most explicit in terms of what they are worried about, but on the surface it seems OK because it has no depiction of homosexual acts."
In the face of this situation, the organisers decided to try a technique used by other festivals which have faced censorship: to show the films on video only in a public institution such as a university, in the hope that the authorities would turn a blind eye. In South Korea today, many unclassified films and videos are shown informally in university classes and clubs and similar "non-commercial" screening situations.
Many gay and lesbian-themed films are being shown commercially in Korea. But, according to Seo Dongjin, "the distributors and exhibitors of those films say they are not gay or lesbian-related. They have to cover up the truth... in order to be able to negotiate a way round the censorship clause that bans gay and lesbianrelated films.'
According to Seo Dongjin, South
Korean legislation only recognises homosexual behaviour, "not that there are gay and lesbian people who are citizens and form communities.. In a TV talk show, one of the censors said that Korean society was not ready for gay and lesbian films yet. Last Tango in Paris was banned for twenty years, but shown this year, so he said, "please, gay and lesbian audiences, be patient and wait for twenty years. he patient and wait for twenty years."
On Saturday 27 September, South Korea's new Human Rights Film Festival was due to open. University authorities cut the electricity. Opening night went ahead with a video screening, powered by a portable generator. The government surrounded the university with up to 1,000 riot troops during every evening of the festival. Two members of the Hongik University Student Union that co-hosted the festival were arrested.