Prior to the screening of Perfect Blue at the Prince Charles Cinema on Sunday 11th October, cinephiles will have the chance to view the short film IDOLS by Matt Halsall, a British director currently residing in Seoul - as a frequent visitor to Korea myself, my interest was piqued!
The film has already received high praise and sounds like a fantastic 20 minutes, with the perfect subject matter to accompany Perfect Blue. Book your tickets on the Prince Charles Cinema website.
Director Matt Halsall introduces the project:
IDOLS is a 20-minute Korean-language psychological thriller that I wrote and directed here in Seoul. It follows a struggling young woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to one of Korea’s biggest K-pop stars.
The film had its world premiere in competition at Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal this summer, followed by its US premiere at Beyond Fest in Los Angeles. It’s now heading to Sitges and after that the Yami Film Festival in Tokyo!
We’re screening the short at the Prince Charles Cinema on Sunday 11 October at 8:45pm, before Satoshi Kon’s PERFECT BLUE, which is particularly special for me as PERFECT BLUE was a major inspiration for IDOLS.
I’m a British writer/director originally from London but have been based in Seoul for a number of years. The film was produced by Seoul-based producer and critic Pierce Conran, stars Hojo Shin in the two lead roles, and features an original score by Mowg (Burning, The Wailing).
The Fantasia Film Synopsis courtesy of Steven Lee:
Kim Min-ha, a wannabe K-Pop idol, unexpectedly shows up at the home of a famous actress named Park Hye-mi. Surprisingly, they both look the exact same! Desperate for stardom, Min-ha has a proposition in mind for Hye-mi, but she will not take no for an answer. Things are about to get ugly… Hojo Shin (XO, KITTY) perfectly embraces the challenge of playing two distinct characters in one intense story, and she impeccably brings emotional depth to both disturbing portrayals. Matt Halsall’s IDOLS is a deeply immersing psychological thriller, while tragically demonstrating that the Korean celebrity scene is not all glitz and glamour.
