Estonia, Korea sign memorandum of understanding

At the 17th Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn, Estonia and South Korea signed a memorandum of mutual understanding today towards promoting co-production and production service collaboration opportunities.

They also hope to promote international collaboration between the two countries’ industries by acknowledging two ongoing film projects: 

• The Painter directed by Jeon Kyu-hwan (The Weight) and produced by Choi Mi-ae. 
  
  
• Fools For Love (working title) directed by Lee Yoon-ki (Come Rain, Come Shine) produced by Oh Jung-wan and her BOM Film, to be shot in Northern Europe in 2014 which has completed scouting in Estonia 

Korean Film Council (KOFIC) secretary general Kim In Soo and Estonian Film Institute director Edith Sepp signed the memorandum at the Industry@Tallinn event following a panel on Korean productions in the international arena.

Producers TJ Park of Snowpiercer, Ellen YD Kim of Come Rain, Come Shine and Brian Younghong Chung who worked on Red Cliff and Mr Go spoke on the panel about their experiences, expectations and tips on international co-financing and co-productions.

Sepp said, “One of the most important things to learn from this panel is that ‘we have to keep communicating’. I think this MOU is a sign of trust and cooperation that I hope will also carry on into cooperations between schools and festivals and so on. I hope it’s the beginning of a wonderful friendship.”

Estonia is now the first country in Northern and Eastern Europe to enter into this sort of cooperation with the South Korean film industry.

“The signing of the memorandum between Estonia and South Korea is not only signifying the importance of the Black Nights Film Festival and its position as an ongoing and important platform for Asian filmmakers to the region, but also underlines the role of the event as a bridge between the larger film industries of Europe and South-Korea,” said Sten Saluveer, head of Industry@Tallinn.