After
a contentious year of protests by competing restaurant owners, Santangelos, Tinley Park's swank, upscale eatery, whose landlord is the village's Park District, has closed - for now.
This was a minor disruption compared to the previous
year, when the festival was nearly cancelled due to a political conflict between the city and the festival organisers, relating to the screening
of an anti-government documentary in 2014.1 Much has changed in the past
year, most notably the impeachment
of right - wing President Park Geun - hye, whose government the documentary had targeted, and the election
of the left - liberal party headed by Moon Jae - in.2 While the
contentious political atmosphere has not entirely dissipated, as evidenced by the student
protest groups still demanding an apology from the local city government, this
year's festival was an attempt to return to normalcy, despite the untimely death
of one
of the festival's driving forces, deputy director Kim Ji - seok, a much beloved figure within the community.3 Although the festival had a strong selection
of international entries, including some
of the best this
year has to offer, such as Ruben Östlund's Palme d'Or winner The Square and Sean Baker's The Florida Project, I have decided to focus my report on the Korean films.