Never Will There Be a More Satisfying Time in My Life

Kwon Taek IM is the jury president for the New Asian Talent Award at this year’s SIFF and the “godfather” of South Korean films. He has directed more South Korean films than anyone in history, but he didn’t show even the slightest tinge of pride during an SIFF interview. Instead, he expressed a reluctance to think back on his own works, which, in his opinion, could never quite be perfect. He is, therefore, always preparing himself for his next film. Speaking on the topic of Chinese films, IM believes that Chinese film industry is in a recessionary phase, but that the downturn is both temporary and a normal part of the industry cycle.

He also could not help thinking of his old Chinese friend XieJin. “China has outstanding directors, including XieJin and the fifth generation of directors. I am looking forward to more extraordinary Chinese films, and hoping to learn more about them.”  

With about 100 works, IM is the most productive director in South Korea. His productivity is especially amazing when you consider that he spent 11 years in producing 50 films. According to IM, “Some people think it unbelievable that a director could make 50 films in 11 years. In those days, I buried myself in the film studio. All I thought about were the films. I was so dedicated to them so that I did not know how to kill time during the vacation. “As the most prestigious filmmaker in South Korea, IM’s works have won countless international awards. Nevertheless, IM declined to name his favorite. “I never see my works after they’ve been finished, because the more I review them, the more imperfections I find in them. Although I have made 100 films, there will never be one that I could call the ‘most satisfying’. I’ve always thought that it was impossible to make a perfect film. So all I try to do is to make films with as few defects as possible. But maybe it’s all just a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

IM’s best-known films, from Strokes of Fire to Chunhyang to Sopyonje to The Surrogate Woman, all deal with traditional South Korean culture. According to IM, the key for Asian films lies in carrying forward the national cultures that the films are rooted in. “In my opinion, respecting our own cultures and carrying them forward is the key to making good films.”

Kwon-taek Im is one of South Korea\'s most renowned film directors. In an active and prolific career, his films have won many domestic and international film festival awards as well as considerable box-office success, and helped bring international attention to the Korean film industry.
Im was born in Jangseong, Jeollanam-do and grew up in Gwangju. He moved to Seoul in 1956, where director of Five Fingers of Death (1972), Jeong Chang-hwa offered him room and board for work as a production assistant. Jeong recommended him for directing in 1961.
Im\'s directorial premier was with the 1962 film, Farewell to the Duman River (Dumanganga jal itgeola).
Before 1980 he was known primarily as a commercial filmmaker who could efficiently direct as many as eight genre pictures a year, helping to fulfill the quota for domestic pictures set by the government. His desire to make more artistically satisfying films began to show itself with his 1978 film Jokbo (Genealogy or The Family Tree), but the turning point of his career came with the 1981 film Mandala. From this point his films have been regarded as art-house cinema, and have been regularly shown at international film festivals, and have won numerous awards.
Im has continued to explore themes from Korea\'s past while also focusing on the Korean cultural identity in modern times. Among Im\'s most notable recent films are Sopyonje (1993) and Chunhyang (2000), both of which concentrate on the traditional Korean musical art of pansori. The latter film was also based on a traditional Korean legend. Apart from being a critical success, Sopyonje was also a success at the box office, becoming the first domestic film to draw over a million viewers in Seoul alone. Chihwaseon (2002) was also a critical success, earning him Korea\'s first Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival. Im Kwon-taek was awarded an honorary Golden Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival in 2005.
Kwon-taek Im\'s status, brought on by the critical success of his films, overlapped with a period of the film movement called “New Korean Cinema” or “Korean New Wave”. Along with other directors, such as Park Gwang-su and Jang Seon-u, Im is recognized as one of the founding figures of the movement, which gained international critical recognition and acclaim for Korean Cinema.
In April 2007, Im released his 100th film Beyond the Years, an informal sequel to Sopyonje. In November 2007 the French government announced that it would award Im the French Legion of Honor.