Koreatown
LA
•
28-Aug-2019
In Los Angeles, a young man working as a doumi - a host/hostess who entertains clients in private karaoke rooms - encounters a strange request. “Koreatown,” directed by Grant Hyun, is a stylish drama full of controlled tension and striking neon visuals. The handsome Kyeong sings to patrons who have chosen him out of a lineup to indulge their fantasies. His performance can extend to intimate conversations as well, like when Kyeong discusses his rocky move from Seoul to America as a seven year old child. One night, a woman seeks ‘second round,’ paying more to have Kyeong escort her home. As they arrive, and even before, we sense something is different about this transaction, and it builds to a disturbing 1-2 finale. Hyun has a keen sense of atmosphere-building and he crafts a transfixing character study with great performances and evocative tunes.
Writer & Director: Grant Hyun. Starring Sunho Yoo, Crystal Lee, and Donna Lee. Producers: Ashleigh Kim, Oliver Dunne. Cinematographer: Alfonso Herrera Salcedo. Score and Original Song: Luka Mielniczenko. Production Designer: Charlotte Hass. Art Director: Tyler Evans.
Up Next in LA
-
I Love to Wait
Sarah gave Ezra a soul crystal, and that may have been a mistake. “I Love to Wait,” directed by Harrison Atkins, is an imaginative, free-roaming vision of an on-and-off relationship in Los Angeles, a rare melding of the mundane and the mystical. In a world where couples communicate via crystals (...
-
Las Gitanas
On the streets of Los Angeles, a group of young hustlers spend a night partying and stealing. It's a visceral collection of scenes with a pulsating natural energy and soft-focus gaze on lost innocence. The film centers around Gabriel, a handsome young man, and a gender-fluid set of friends maneuv...
-
Amor to Love
A city construction worker, played by Buddy Anthony Diaz, gets his girlfriend Taco Bell for their anniversary dinner. Ted Marsden directs “Amor to Love,” a Hi-8 character study of a guy who can’t seem to get things under his control. We meet Buddy working traffic management at a hectic constructi...
