Tony Rayns, the British film critic who introduced Korean cinema to global audiences, died Wednesday. He was 77.
The Busan International Film Festival announced his death on social media the same day. "Tony Rayns, who championed the value of Korean and Asian cinema to the world ahead of anyone else, has passed away. May he rest in peace," the festival said.
Born in 1948, Rayns worked as a film critic for Sight and Sound, the magazine of the British Film Institute, and as a programmer for the London Film Festival and the Vancouver International Film Festival, continually discovering Korean films and introducing them overseas.
Notably, he invited director Bong Joon-ho's short film "Incoherence" to the Vancouver and Hong Kong film festivals in 1994, marking the film's first screening for international audiences.
In Korea, Rayns served as an adviser when the Busan International Film Festival was launched in 1996, playing a major role in shaping the festival in its early years.
In 2012, a documentary titled "Tony Rayns and 25 Years of Korean Cinema" was screened at the Busan festival, and he received the first plaque of appreciation for contributions to Korean cinema from the Korean Film Council.
"He made a tremendous contribution to introducing Korean cinema to the world. I am deeply saddened by his passing and pray that he rests in peace," said Kim Dong-ho, former executive chairman of the festival, who had maintained ties with Rayns through their work in Busan.
Kim is said to have visited Rayns in Britain about five years ago while the critic was unwell.
yoohong@heraldcorp.com
