Seoul Visual Collective

From Mr. Chris Berry
“ON-LINE is not only an informative film, but it is also a very moving one. This is because it is not a fossilized history. Instead, it uses history to open up contemporary issues in independent filmmaking relevant not to Korea but globally. On-Line presents vital insights into the history of the independent film movement in Korea. These include the involvement of such now famous figures as Park Kwangsu, Kim Dongwon and Byun Youngjoo in the early days of the movement, critical events like the film THE NIGH BEFORE THE STRIKE, and recent issues. Therefore, it is a very important introduction for younger viewers overseas. ON-LINE really brings this history alive. But the real achievement of ON-LINE is that it uses the history of the independent movement in Korea to open up difficult and important questions for independent filmmakers everywhere in the world today. The film shows today's independent film movement to be full of life, full of debate, and full of arguments. How can independent filmmakers in the post-socialist era continue to make their work useful for political and social issues? What sort of legal and political changes are necessary to ensure a healthy environment for independent filmmaking? What is a true independent film? These are the issues at the core of ON-LINE. In Korea, where events like the 1st Seoul Queer Film and Video Festival and the 2nd Human Rights Film Festival have been suppressed even since the making of ON-LINE, these are clearly vital issues. But they are also important internationally. As the negative side of globalization becomes more clear to everyone around the world, the need for filmmakers everywhere to engage in the labor and social problems it is causing becomes more and more evident. Perhaps because democracy and the development of social welfare has been quite slow in coming to Korea, unlike in many other developed countries, Korean filmmakers have never ceased to be engaged in these struggles. That is why I found the film to be so relevant for me, so provocative, and so moving.