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Indie "Old Partner" exceeds 2 million milestone

Even though its success was initially totally unexpected, it has nowadays become normal to expect records and milestones from "Old Partner". Like the tough and loyal old ox and his diehard owner the independent documentary ploughed on despite big budget competition. On the national holiday 1 May, Lee Chung-ryoul's countryside observation reached the 2 million viewers mark.

The first independent film to top Korean reservation websites and the box office maintained its number one spot for a second week. In addition, LEE won the Best new director award at the prestigious 45th BaekSang Arts Awards ceremony on Friday 27 February.

"Old Partner" was released on Friday 15 January and according to Korean Film Council's (KOFIC) data, the film recorded 1,765,023 viewers on 27 February. The documentary garners about 150,000 viewers on a weekend's day. The feat of 2 million viewers for an independent film was reached in merely 46 days.

"Old Partner" was initially released on a modest seven screens. The success and attention for the film resulted in a rapid increase of number of screens. LEE's film played on 220 screens last week and the number was upped to 284 over the weekend.

"Old Partner" is an observation over years of a headstrong old farmer who is inseparable from his 40-year-old-ox who has served him over 30 years. The regular lifespan of an ox is 15 years. Both are on their last legs. The film was invited by and praised at both Pusan International Film Festival 2008 and Sundance International Film Festival 2009.

The previous record for an independent film was held by Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 911 with 450,000 viewers. Number three Once managed 220,000 attendees.

Yi Ch'ang-ho (KOFIC)

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