Korean Hit Film ‘12.12: The Day’ Sets North American Digital Release – Global Bulletin

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief
North American digital distributor Echelon Studios has come on board “12.12: The Day,” the highest grossing film from Korea last year. The film has been on theatrical release in North America, through 815 Pictures since last year and grossed over $1 million. Echelon said that the film will have a streaming release later this year.

It will also be available to pre-order to own on iTunes, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube Movies, Vudu, Vimeo OnDemand and OnDemand Korea shortly. Directed by Kim Sung-su and with a Korean gross exceeding $90 million, the action drama is based on true events in December 1979, which resulted in an eight-year military junta in South Korea. The film stars Hwang Jung-min (“Deliver Us from Evil”), Jung Woo-sung (“Asura: The City of Madness”), Lee Sung-min (“The Spy Gone North”), Park Hae-joon (“Believer”), Kang Gil-woo (Netflix series “The Glory”), and Jung Hae-in (Netflix’s “D.P.”).

Principal photography has now wrapped on Kent Donguines’ feature documentary, “Treasure of the Rice Terraces,” produced by Crawford Filmworks and Aimer Films. Donguines is the first Filipino-Canadian filmmaker to travel to Buscalan, a secluded mountain community in Tinglayan, Kalinga, Philippines, to find the legendary artist Apo Whang-Od and her apprentices to learn about the history and symbolism of Kalinga tattoos. “Treasure of the Rice Terraces” explores how this old practice, once banned and despised in Philippine society, is evolving into a chic and in-demand type of body art that has become a source of pride and belonging for many Filipinos, both at home and abroad.

The documentary highlights the importance of preserving the tattoo culture for future generations and the challenges faced by the community in doing so. It also delves into the issues of stolen mummified bodies, cultural appropriation, stigmatization, and discrimination faced by tattooed individuals. Anthropologist, Lars Krutak, Kim “Kuya Kim” Atienza, Miss Universe Philippines 2023 Michelle Dee, and Designer Mark Bumgarner are among the people interviewed for this documentary.