CRYING FIST on DVD from May 5th!

CRYING FIST (JUMEOGI UNDA), the 2nd DVD title of the Evokative Collection, will finally reach Canadian cinephiles on May 5th. This boxing drama from acclaimed South-Korean Director RYOO Seung-wan (ARAHAN, CITY OF VIOLENCE) stars CHOI Min-sik (OLDBOY, LADY VENGEANCE) and RYOO Seung-bum (ARAHAN, BLOODY TIE).

Jobless, besieged by creditors, and abandoned by his wife, the once silver medalist Tae-shikn (CHOI Min-sik) has sunken to street hustling, becoming a human punching bag. Meanwhile, young Sang-hwan's (RYOO Seung-bum) delinquent ways land him behind bars. Both men look to boxing to turn around lives gone astray, aiming for the amateur title, ultimately pitting them against each other, but more importantly, against themselves.

This critically acclaimed film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs section in 2005 and followed with many other prestigious festivals such as the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the New York Asian Film Festival, the Fantasia International Film Festival, the Melbourne International Film Festival, the Vancouver International Film Festival, the San Diego Asian Film Festival, the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival and the Oslo International Film Festival. CRYING FIST won such awards as the FIPRESCI Award at the Cannes Film Festival; the Best Actor Award for CHOI Min-sik and the Silver Fantasia for Best Asian Film at the Fantasia International Film Festival; the Best Supporting Actress Award for NA Mun-Hee and the Best Editing Award for NAM Na-Yeong at the Grand Bell Awards; and the Best Director Award for RYOO Seung-wan at the Pusan Film Critics Association Awards.

In accordance with the innovative vocation of Evokative, the DVD packaging is an environmentally-friendly and elegant digipack made of 100% recycled materials and wrapped in a 100% biodegradable cellophane. The packaging includes a booklet with an exclusive Director’s note and a foreword by Nicolas Archambault, programmer at the Fantasia International Film Festival. The DVD offers special features such as English and French subtitles, a making-of, highlights of the film, a photo essay, the original Korean trailer and TV ads, as well as the 55-minutes original soundtrack composed by BANG Jun-suk.

Posted in DVD Releases

EVOKATIVE FILMS Acquires the Canadian Rights to DAYTIME DRINKING!

It is with great pleasure that Evokative Films announces its acquisition of DAYTIME DRINKING. This South-Korean dramatic comedy, produced with a micro-budget of $9 000 CAD (10 000 Won), seduced audiences and juries alike in various International film festivals and found an unexpected success on its domestic market. As well as Producer, Writer and Director, NOH Young-seok took on the roles of Cinematographer, Production Designer, Editor and Composer of the Original Soundtrack for this first feature film.

On a drunken night out with his friends, Hyuk-jin, a broken-hearted young man, gets swayed into going to the countryside with them for a getaway weekend. But when he gets there, he finds that not only none of them showed up, but the tiny seaside town is shuttered - no shops are open, no tourists are around, the beach is freezing and there’s no cell phone signal. And that’s only the beginning of his bad luck. Unable and reluctant to return to Seoul, he finds himself in the company of some very unusual locals and, subject to the rigid rules of Korean drinking culture, on an increasingly strange odyssey nursing a never-ending hangover. Ushering a new era of independent filmmaking in South Korea, DAYTIME DRINKING is a comedy in the spirit of STRANGER THAN PARADISE and SIDEWAYS - but with a distinctly Korean twist.

Evokative Films signed the distribution deal with Eleven Arts, owner of the North-American rights. The films’ International sales agent is Finecut. DAYTIME DRINKING started its festival career at the Jeonju International Film Festival in 2008, where it won the JJ-Star Award and the Audience Critics' Award, to follow with the Locarno International Film Festival, where it won a Special Mention of the Jury and a NETPAC Award, and the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2009 it followed with the Vessoul Asian Film Festival, where it won an Inalco Jury Award and then, amongst others, the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2009, the SXSW Film Festival and the Hong Kong International Film Festival. Eleven Arts plans a US theatrical release in June and July of this year and Evokative Films will follow with July and August screenings. A DVD release is planned for September.

Posted in Acquisitions

Glowing reviews for ADRIFT IN TOKYO!

Following the April 10th release of ADRIFT IN TOKYO, we’ve been blessed with all-around positive reviews! This love-fest in the media translated in a very good box-office for the 1st week-end at the AMC Forum Theatre: $6 600. Yes, these are small bucks compared to the Hollywood blockbusters, but it still puts us in second place of the Quebec per-screen box-office for 1st-week films, and in 5th place for per-screen box-office on all films playing in Quebec. To say that we’re thrilled is an understatement!

So here’s a little round-up on the good things that have been said in the press for the release and beforehand…

Print Media
At the Montreal Gazette: John Griffin’s review, Liz Ferguson’s review, Al Kratina’s review
At the Montreal Mirror: Mark Slutsky’s review
At the Hour: Meghan Hick’s review
At Exclaim!: Katarina Gligorijevic’s review
At The McGill Tribune: Brahna Siegelberg’s review
At Variety: Russell Edwards’s review
At the Japan Times: Mark Schilling’s review

Web
At Twitchfilm: The release news, Todd Brown’s review, Todd’s Best films of 2008, Andrew Mack’s review
At the Toronto J-film Pow-wow:The release news, Chris MaGee’s Review
At Cinema Strikes Back: David Austin’s review, Their Top-10 picks of 2008
At Midnight Eye: Keith Fancher’s review
At They Shoot Actors, Don’t They?: Katarina Gligorijevic’s review
At eFilmCritic: Jay Seaver’s review
At UGO: John Lichman’s review
At LunaPark6: Luna6’s review
At MovieMoxie: Shannon Riddler’s review

ADRIFT IN TOKYO will be playing in Montreal until April 23rd, to then play in Toronto at the AMC Yonge & Dundas theatre from May 1st. Next up will be Vancouver from May 22nd.

Posted in In the Press, Theatrical Releases

Evokative is one year old today!

The 1st of April isn’t just a day to pull pranks or the day just before my own birthday – it’s also the day when Evokative finally got incorporated last year.

At this time I get to appreciate the great distance the company has gone in one short year. I could not have gone through this road without the help of many persons, so I’d like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for the big and small input all of you have had on the growth of Evokative!

Posted in Events