90 minutes, DV, in Korean with English subtitles
Directed by: Song Il-Gon
Starring: Lee So-Yeon, Jang Hyeon-Sung

Showtimes: June 26, 8:30pm at the ImaginAsian [Buy Tickets]; June 30, 6:00pm at the ImaginAsian [Buy Tickets].

Shot in only 10 days, for around US$60,000, FEATHER IN THE WIND is a small miracle of a movie. Beloved by Korean critics, some of whom have proclaimed it the best Korean romance ever made, it's a romantic comedy but it's also far finer fare than what normally passes for either romance or comedy in movie theaters. A small miracle, FEATHER is like a terrarium for some kind of rare orchid: the slightest change in its surroundings and the whole thing will fall apart. If Song Il-Gon had had a dollar more, or even one more day of shooting, it's likely the final product wouldn't be as gorgeous as what's preserved onscreen.

Pressed up against the deadline to turn in a screenplay, a young director, Jang Hyeon-Sung (played by actor Jang Hyeon-Sung, and modeled on Song Il-Gon) remembers that ten years earlier he promised an ex-girlfriend that they would meet up in ten year's time at a hotel on the remote coastal island of Biyang-do . Curiosity (and some lust, and a deep desire to procrastinate) re-kindled, he heads for Biyang-do and waits. And waits. He stays in a rundown hotel owned by a depressive who hasn't spoken since his wife left him and the dour fellow's niece, Lee So-Yeon (played by actress Lee So-Yeon of UNTOLD SCANDAL) who is twelve years Jang's junior. These three (plus a peacock and a piano) seem to be the only residents of the island. Over the next few, mostly rainy, days they circle one another, coming closer and drawing away, desperate for contact but terrified to get hurt. Originally commissioned as a short for Korea 's Green Film Festival, Korean production powerhouse CJ Entertainment liked the movie so much that they gave Song the money to turn it into a 90 minute feature. FEATHER IN THE WIND is a small movie, one that would easily fit in your pocket, but it is made with more care and joy than most movies ten times its size.

Loved by Korean critics (some of whom have proclaimed it the best Korean romance ever made) if this movie was going to resemble anything else, it would be more subtle version of a romantic comedy.