this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour. which is straight after this programme. hello, i'm tom brook and welcome to a special edition of talking movies devoted to the latest developments in korean cinema. i've come to seoul to take the temperature of one of the most dynamic film—making communities in the world to ask, what's next for its movie industry? wow, look at all those people. it's my first visit to south korea. i arrived after a 14—hour flight

from my home in new york. coming here was a journey of discovery. moving around seoul, i found the night—time metropolis exciting, unlike anywhere i'd ever been before. like many, i've tasted the joys of korean cinema, its landmark films like oldboy and parasite. now, i was going to meet the people involved in the movie industry in south korea to find out how they make it all work. but what became clear very rapidly as i encountered koreans on the night—time streets is that they really do like their movies. yeah, i really like movies. i watch movie every day, every night. i really do love movies. and actually, one of my dreams is like being a movie director, actually. in our korea special, we'll be hearing from celine song, the korean—canadian director whose film past lives, shot partly here in seoul, earned a coveted best picture oscar nomination, putting her on the map as a major new voice in world cinema.

we'll also be looking at a disconcerting documentary which explores the plight of north koreans trying to defect. and how technology is changing the way that films are being viewed and made in south korea. the phenomenal international success of streaming shows like squid game or films like parasite have conveyed the impression that all is rosy with the media landscape in south korea. it was hoped that the awards success of the historic oscar winner parasite in 2020 would take the cinema industry here to new levels of success around the globe. but it hasn't quite worked out like that. seoul—based film critic darcy paquet has been writing about korean cinema for almost 25 years. he also did the english language translations for the oscar—winning parasite. covid seemed to change everything, and i, for one, thought that, you know, things would return to normal after covid, but they haven't.

we've kind of entered into a new era where competition from streaming is stronger than it used to be. kim da—sol is a film journalist for the korea herald. i visited her to get her take on the entertainment industry's challenges here. moviegoers before pandemic, they want to go to the theatre to watch the film. but now, because they have netflix at home, they are not bothered to walk to the theatre, actually. but on the other hand, because the actors and the directors who had no jobs at all during pandemic, they are shifting towards platforms like netflix. so netflix is becoming a new breakthrough for the directors and actors to make income. netflix is investing over $2 billion into the korean film and tv industry. it's eager to produce hits that can be a success not just here in south korea but around the globe. streaming is seen by many as radically changing the film industry here. film—makers like director lee claim that it's pushing up costs and stifling creative risk taking. director lee is one of the most unique voices in the korean film industry.

his most recent film was killing romance, an unusual hybrid, a musical comedy. it performed poorly at cinemas before becoming a cult hit at organised screenings. in this new streaming—dominant era, he fears it will be harder to make adventurous cinema. i'm not speaking on behalf of the korean industry, but for me, it's becoming more conservative because all the budgets went up, labour costs went up and everything, just cost of making films went up. it's become more conservative. thank you. now, what flavour is this again? it's onion. onion. that's good. onion popcorn — never savoured that before at the movies. in south korea, cinema admissions

are down from pre—covid times. in other countries, movie—going has rebounded, but not so much here. but amid the gloom, there is some hope. the historical drama seoul spring performed very strongly at the box office, and the action comedy the round—up: punishment was a real crowd—pleaser. it does suggest that things might be improving, and that if south korean audiences are given the right stories, they will still come out to the cinema. as a rule, international audiences still don't get a massive amount of local korean culture on their cinema screens. parasite was perhaps a notable exception. but a film called past lives, with origins very much rooted here in south korea, has been animating audiences around the world. past lives has been a major success story. it earned a very significant accolade, getting a best picture nomination at the 2024 academy awards, as well as an 0riginal screenplay nomination too. it brought forth a positive response from a broad cross—section of moviegoers.

the film is very much inspired by the life of its writer and director, celine song, who was born here in south korea in the late 1980s. alan moloney went to meet her. there is a word in korean — inyeon. it means providence or fate. past lives focuses on two childhood friends over a 24—year period. we first meet them as children in seouljust before nora moves with her family to canada. the story picks up 12 years later on separate continents as they reunite over social media before again dropping in on them 12 years later. it's a film about relationships and identity, delicately told by playwright and first—time director celine song. she's been widely praised for the confidence she displays in her direction. how did you finally kind of make thatjump and be able to kind of take this on, then? well, i can really talk

about it as falling in love, because i think a few weeks into my making the movie, i think i had this feeling that i was like, ha, i've just met the love of my life and it is film—making, and i know i'm going to do this till i'm 95 _ i'm going to do this forever. i'm going to do this till i die. celine song was born here in korea and moved away at a young age before eventually settling in new york. crucial to the film are competing notions of self, being a part of and separate from a culture. it's a deeply personal subject for her. past lives is a story that was inspired by this moment where i was translating between these two people because they don't speak each other's language, between korean and english. as i was translating between their language and culture, i also realised that i'm also translating between parts of my own self and parts of my own history, and i think that moment really was the inspiration for the whole film.

there'sjust this kid in my head for such a long time. _ i think ijust missed him. did he miss you? hae—sung! the film acts as a bridge between song's dual identity, and she admits that it would have been difficult to make only a few years ago. i think that after parasite and, of course, i think also covid and people are starting to watch things at home, i think our subtitles have become something that is not a barrier. and i think that to me has been such an amazing gift for having it come out at this time. because i think that even when i was writing it, it wasn't clear if people would want to watch a movie that is properly bilingual. the film was partly shot in seoul, an experience that brought song back to the city of her childhood. it was so amazing. the crew was so hard working and i felt like i feel so supported by the crew there and i don't know, they're amazing. it's really a very

film—making—friendly city and i had a really wonderful time there, and what was so funny is that because i was a person who in my core creative team who really did speak both cultures and both languages, that i ended up being a bit of a nora for these two film crews, these department heads and the film crew in korea. so in fact, making the movie in korea was actually reflective of what the movie was about. past lives may be understated, but its intricate examination of complex relationships certainly doesn't lack impact. and while it's a film that examines issues of korean self and identity, it does so in a way that audiences all over the world can relate to. the guy flew 13 hours to be here.

i'm not going to tell you that . you can't see him or something. some of the best korean films have a thoughtful subtext. in parasite, for example, class conflict and social inequality were strong themes, giving the film a lot of weight. more recently, koreans have embraced a disaster film called concrete utopia, in which modern—day seoul is reduced to rubble. it too cleverly explores tensions between the haves and the have—nots. sirens and explosions woman screams the destruction on view in concrete utopia isn't that different from a hollywood disaster movie. it is epic in scale and has good visual effects. concrete utopia has been a big hit with korean audiences, and it's won several top local awards.

the disaster featured in the film is just the beginning. it actually focuses on the aftermath of a massive earthquake and a single surviving residential tower block. i went to visit the film's co—writer and director, um tae—hwa, in seoul's tallest building. the movie is his third feature in a 20—year film career. translation: my interest lies in the fact that in korea, - about 60% of the people here live in tower blocks, and i always thought and wondered, why does everybody live in the same type of home? and why are apartments considered to be indicators for success? and as someone who had lived and grew up in tower blocks, these were the motivating factors of wanting to create the story. in this dystopian world, things inevitably do not go well. survivors are forced to make tough decisions on how to continue with life. i enjoyed the fact that it's a film that asks questions not only of its characters,

but also of its audience. translation: rather than a story about haves and have-nots, - i think it's more centred around people trying to survive and what people may do in these kinds of extreme situations, when there might be a tragedy that has happened and how people's humanity may change and how some people try to preserve it. economic and social inequality have become big issues in south korea in recent years, and films like concrete utopia are tapping into a dissatisfaction with the perceived status quo. and while the director made the film mainly for a korean audience, the themes have been able to strike a nerve with audiences around the world. people chant translation: initially when making this movie, _ i did considerfor most the korean audience, and it was meant to be a korean story, a story about korean tower blocks, and perhaps excessively focused on koreans and the country. but there's been a wonderful opportunity to be able to show this film to an international audience.

film trailer in korean one aspect of korea that's always fascinated me has been the history of the divided korean peninsula. these prayer ribbons have been left by visitors with messages calling for peace between north and south. i get the feeling that south korea's geopolitics has informed many of the country's films over the years. those thoughts accompanied me on a one—hour excursion by road from seoul. we've travelled north to the dmz, the demilitarized zone, that legendary buffer that separates north and south korea. it's hard to believe thatjust a short distance north from here lies one of the most secretive and oppressive countries in the world.

a totalitarian nation of more than 25 million people. a documentary called beyond utopia chronicles daily life in north korea in the most distressing terms, as it follows the efforts of some individuals to defect. beyond utopia is directed by american film—maker madeleine gavin, and it's compelling and often heartbreaking to watch. what was particularly notable for me is the use of mobile phones to record footage to illustrate the defectors�* escape. it makes you feel that you're an active participant in it. 26 million people live within the walls of that country, and we do not hear from them, we do not even acknowledge them. we do not even know they exist. at a certain point i was like, this movie has to be made. and then i met pastor kim and he and i, after many months of getting to know each other, realised we wanted to make

the same kind of film, which really brought people up close and personal. pastor kim is a well—known figure in korea for helping individuals who want to defect from the north. i met him at a special screening of beyond utopia in seoul, organised by the national human rights commission of korea. at times on the phone, you were directing people on what to shoot while they were in north korea. how did you feel about doing that? translation: our organisation has been accumulating images - from north korea for the last 24 years, and our database of images are the biggest in the world. so i was able to explain the routes of the escape. and i think because of my local knowledge and expertise, the director inevitably delegated parts of the film to me. the documentary resembles a thriller, as the families race against time to complete their journey. it's difficult at times to watch beyond utopia,

to see the brutal violence meted out on north korean people. it's definitely not family viewing. also at the screening was mama roh, one of the defectors featured in the film. what struck me as we chatted was her enthusiasm and positive spirit after all she'd endured. she hopes the documentary can be a powerful tool to educate the world about north korea. translation: i think many people in north korea would assume - that a family like ours, if they tried to escape, they would die. but when they do find out - that we all managed to escape, i think that will be really powerful and it is so emotional for me - knowing that there is a possibility that people back in north korea l might be able to see this and learn that. i when you meet real people here, documentaries like beyond utopia do serve to remind you just how resilient individuals can be in the midst of deprivation, hardship and isolation. the whole world is fascinated by north korea, and this film really does put a human face

on the suffering in that country and the efforts that some will make to escape from it. i always like to discover a city just by walking around. close to our hotel, there were a lot of underground walkways connecting buildings and places. i was keen to try out the underground trains in seoul. when you travel on the underground, it seems that virtually everyone is online. korea is now one of the most connected nations on earth, with 95% of the population being able to access the internet. everywhere you go, people are downloading and streaming, giving film—makers new ways to reach audiences. there is the view that technology may somehow save the day and help bring about a renaissance in the film industry. it didn't take me too long to travel to a film—making team collaborating on a new korean short called night vision.

the film was shot in a special way, using cameras fixed to this vehicle, which mimic the point of view of the built—in cameras which are mounted accessories on this hyundai car. night vision stars well—known korean actor son suk—ku, who plays a mysterious driver chasing an extra—terrestrial entity. so we wanted to fit the taste of the younger generation and just trying to create something that they haven't seen before. the idea of what movie is can be, i thought, you know, bigger than what it is. the director of night vision previously won a short film palme d'or for his work on a film called safe, and he sees his latest work as just one example of how korean storytellers are using different techniques to try to capture new audiences. translation: i think these days

that there are many similar - narratives as stories, so therefore coming up with fresh ways to tell the stories. for instance, 3d movies in the past or when black and white went to colour, i think those kinds of illustrative ways and how they evolve can also be a new innovative move. south korea's film industry has long had an edge internationally, notjust in its ability to deliver original and distinct stories, but also by creating impressive looking features. across seoul is the home of dexter studios, established more than ten years ago. it's now one of the biggest visual effects companies in asia, involved in everything from virtual production to sound design. they are perhaps best known internationally for their efforts on squid game and parasite. although with parasite, much of the work remained invisible

to the average filmgoer. translation: for parasite, - the whole approach and strategy was to implement the computer—generated images without having the audience realise that there was cgi to begin with. so of the 2,000 shots that we had, 500 of them involved our work. to be honest, it wasn't that difficult in terms of the things we can do, but it was very important that all of those elements be a part of the film and work seamlessly without the audience knowing it. like many other nations, there is much talk here of the possibilities that al is going to bring to film—making. they're keen to stress its impact as a tool that can be used to assist rather than replace human ingenuity. translation: so ai is very trendy these days and is being applied - in so many different areas. here at dexter, we are not using fully—fledged ai, but more in production stages, like in being able to provide positive proof and previsuals.

and when the ai renders an image, we are at a stage where human artists can then adapt to what the ai technology has provided and to change and to augment and apply the readers to the work. but new technology can only go so far in bringing satisfaction to audiences. in south korea, as in the rest of the world, what really keeps cinema alive is original storytelling that makes a human connection with the audience. i met a lot of great people in south korea, many of them passionate in relation to cinema. the film industry is facing an existential challenge that's being experienced around the world, but for south koreans, it's much more extreme. cinemagoing is extremely slow to rebound and streaming is on the increase. but i left the country optimistic that the south korean film community, with its long history of originality, determination and technical expertise, may solve this problem and end up showing the rest of

the world the way forward. well, that brings to a close our korea cinema special. we hope you've enjoyed the programme. please remember, you can always reach us online at... so from me, tom brook, and the rest of the talking movies production crew here in south korea, it's goodbye as we leave you with some images of the city of seoul, accompanied by the soundtrack of the film past lives. # moving statues in the park # mosaic faces fading in the rain # is this really a mystery life? # where we only learn # from our own mistakes.#

hello. the good news is, for those of you still to do some pre—christmas travel, the weather is looking fairly benign for christmas eve. for the vast majority of a bit of cloud around, admittedly, we saw that roll in on monday and much, much milder than it has been. temperatures on monday afternoon 4 or 5 degrees for quite a few. a good 8 to 10 celsius warmer for tuesday afternoon on christmas eve. that milder air has been pushing in already and will continue to do so into the morning. around this area of high pressure to the south of us and behind weather fronts. so by the time we start christmas eve, temperatures for the vast majority are actually in double figures first thing in the morning. lots of cloud around. a rather grey start to the day, however, and certainly in the west, some outbreaks of rain or drizzle a few spots further east too,

but some of the wettest conditions throughout christmas eve will be to the north and west of scotland, where it'll also be quite windy at times, winds touching gale force for some. we'll see some rain or drizzle in northern ireland and around some of these western fringes of england and wales. on the hills it may be a little bit of damp at times, but to the east of high ground, east wales, the midlands, parts of eastern england, eastern scotland, we should see some sunshine break through and it's here. we could see temperatures of iii or 15. now to take us through the night and into the big day, we continue with a fairly cloudy story, fairly breezy to the north and west, with some outbreaks of rain getting heavier and more persistent just to the north of the northern and western isles, but christmas day

starts on a warmish note, 8 to ii celsius for the vast majority. and with us stuck between these weather fronts and a run of southwesterly winds. not much will change through the day compared with christmas eve, though i'm optimistic of a few more cloud breaks. more of you will stay dry. so if you need to get a christmas day walk in, it is looking fairly decent. best of sunshine. probably north east of scotland but quite windy here. windy still to the north and west. the western isles northern isles again. the chance of some rain at times, but probably a little bit drier than christmas eve and temperatures just down a notch, but still well above where we should be at around 11 to 13 degrees for the big journey home, though after christmas, if you're doing it on boxing day or friday, there could be some fog to contend with. across parts of england and wales, most places will be dry. greater chance of some rain at times further north, but nothing disruptive by the looks of it. and by the time we hit the weekend, we're back to something a bit cooler but also a little bit brighter. take care.

live from washington, this is bbc news. rights groups appeal to syria's new rulers to "urgently" preserve evidence of atrocities committed underformer president assad. israel's prime minister says progress has been made on a ceasefire in gaza — officials say a deal is the closest it's ever been after months of deadlock. an ethics report into matt gaetz, who was briefly ina break in a break from tradition, the king will not be recording his christmas message from a royal residence. hello, i'm helena humphrey. glad you could join me. we start with the situation in syria — rights groups are appealing to the country's new leaders to preserve evidence of atrocities commited underformer president bashar al—assad's regime. investigators from amnesty international, human rights watch, and the association of detainees and missing persons in sednaya prison, visited detention facilities and mass graves after rebels