Haewon (2018)

Cruel State

In April 2014, the entire nation of South Korea watched on television live as The Sewol capsized off the coast of Jindo. The tragedy left life-long wounds in the hearts of people whose family and friends had been among the 304 passengers killed. The majority of the victims were high school students on a school trip. Their parents were not even given the luxury of grieving, as they had to camp out in front of the Parliament, City Hall and the Presidential House, asking for only one thing - to know the truth about why their children had been left to die. But after more than a year, that truth has yet to be brought to light. This film is a documentation of the year-long struggle and painful soul-searching of people destined to be labelled as 'bereaved families' for the rest of their lives, as they come face to face with the naked face of their cruel country.

Mrs. B., a North Korean Woman

Portrait of Mrs. B., a tough charismatic North Korean woman who smuggles between North Korea, China and South Korea. With the money she gets, she plans to reunite with her two North Korean sons after years of separation.

April Tragedy

The oral writer of the April 3 Uprising and a Rwandan who came to Korea to study face each other, have a conversation, and then go on a trip hand in hand. The two people, from different generations, nationalities, and occupations, have something in common: they are the daughters of massacre survivors.

Until the Stones Speak

There are five grandmothers, four of whom went to Jeonju Prison due to the Jeju 4.3. All of them were young people around the age of 20 at the time of the incident in 1948. The outline of the incident is formed when hearing the experiences of those who were sent to prison without trial particularly as women. The audience feels indescribable emotions by the fact that they have lived on despite what they had gone through, things that are just too much for a human being to bear.

A Long Farewell

Dunchon Jugong Apts. at the edge of the metropolis, Seoul. It has been over 10 years since discussions of rebuilding these old apartment complexes began. The inhabitants tell us about their soon-to-be-demolished houses and apartments. Some of them have spent long spans of time here and some of them short. Some people are now raising daughters in the house they lived in since their childhood, some families came from other places and struggled to adjust. Each add their different forms of love to this space in their own way. As the long-postponed reconstruction nears reality, the day-to-day scenery of the apartment complexes and households is quietly coming to a close.

South Korea: Earth's Hidden Wilderness

Once a mountain kingdom of ancient palaces and emperors, Korea in the 21st century is largely known for its modern cities and decades of conflict. Tensions between North and South may be what defines it to outsiders but beyond the battle scars there is another side to Korea. In the south are large pockets of untouched wilderness where extraordinary animals flourish and Koreans continue to practice age-old traditions in tandem with the seasons and with nature. It is in these connections, rather than in division, that we see the true Korea.

Bitter, Sweet, Seoul

Over 98 days from August 20th to November 25th 2013, 2821 people from around the world sent 11,852 video featuring many different faces of Seoul. 154 were selected, edited, and made into a movie.

Children Gone to Poland

Tracing the footsteps of North Korean orphans who went to Poland during the Korean War, two women, one from the North and the other from the South, bond through the solidarity of wound and forge together a path toward healing.

Army

"You belong to the country for the next two years." The film describes Woo-cheol's struggles with becoming part of a group while trying to maintain his individuality throughout his military service period. A humorous yet cynical portrait of military groupism.

Nora Noh

Nora Noh, the best fashion designer, who dominated the scene of Korean women’s fashion and culture of the time. She was the first person ever to hold a fashion show in Korea and to make designer readymade clothes. She boldly dressed the Korean singer Yoon Bok-hee in a miniskirt and styled the duo vocal group Pearl Sisters in pantallong (flare-style pants). One day, when Noh was preparing for her show, a young stylist named Suh Eun-young comes to see her out of the blue. What kind of show will the two of them create amidst their differences and conflicts?

Kim-Gun

KIM-GUN searches for the whereabouts of a young man whose identity has sparked a national controversy over the 1980 May 18 Gwangju Uprising. Starting with the vague memories of those who had crossed paths with him during that time, the film tracks down those who participated in the Uprising as “Citizen Soldiers.” It also traces KIM’s final steps, based on photographic clues found in the firearms he carried and the “Surveillance Truck No. 10” in which he rode. By identifying KIM-GUN, we believe that we can find valuable leads to resolving the ongoing controversy over May 18. Why did a nameless young man join the Uprising? Why did he take up arms? Where has he gone afterwards? It is the answers to these questions that the film seeks.

A War of Memories

Recording Nguyen Thi Thanh, the only survivor of Phong Nhi Phong Nhat massacre, where civilians were killed during the Vietnam War. Having lost all of her family at the age of eight and survived by herself, she is an open witness to the massacre of Vietnamese civilians and demands an official apology from the Korean government.

The Remnants

In October 2015, the evicted residents who had imprisoned on a false charge of killing a policeman assembled in a place for the first time after the Yongsan Disaster six years ago. They had occupied a watchtower against unreasonable redevelopment policies and in protest against violent suppression used by riot police in 25 hours of their sit-in demonstration. Their colleagues had died from an unknown fire, and they became criminals. The delight of meeting again lasts only briefly. The ‘comrades’ rip out cruel words while blaming each other.

South Korea: Success at all Costs

With their long working hours, cultural obsession with productivity, and high-stakes schooling system, South Koreans live life in the fast lane. Everyone has the same aim: to be successful and to beat the competition. Thanks in part to this hard...

Spy Nation

YU Wooseong who had been working as a civil servant is on trial for espionage following his sibling’s confession. A reporter who has been laid off begins following the traces of a spy story manipulated by a government agency. The clues lead to a confession and false evidence that society and the press have turned their back on.

Citizen Roh

In 2008, late President Roh Moo-hyun returned to his hometown Bongha village after his retirement and was joined by supporters as he recreated his hometown and began to clean up the Bonghae Mountain, cultivating Bongha Mountain, and cultivating environmentally friendly rice.

The Empire of Shame

A documentary about the continuing case of Samsung semiconductor plant. The film is a story about nameless people wearing white coat, hat and mask worked in a clean room exposing eyes only.

Try to Remember

Lee Nan-young, who is famous for ‘Tears in Mokpo,’ made her debut at OK Records in the 1930s, and married Kim Hae-song, an acclaimed, genius composer at that time. In the year of liberation in 1945, 'KPK Musical Troupe' won popularity with the duo of Lee Nan-young and Kim Hae-song, but Kim got kidnapped by North Korea. During the Korean War, Lee made Korea’s first girl vocal group ‘Kim Sisters’ with her daughters Suk-ja, Ae-ja and her niece Min-ja who inherited their parents’ musical talent. Thanks to Lee’s desperate effort and intense training, ‘Kim Sisters’ gained popularity at the American 8th Army base. They got all the way to Las Vegas, USA for the first time as Asians, showing strong appeal to American public. Min-ja of ‘Kim Sisters’ is still working as a singer in Budapest, Hungary. The audience can meet the three shy girls who fluently sang songs in English without even knowing the language, through the memories of Min-ja in the film.

In the Absence

When the MV Sewol ferry sank off the coast of South Korea in 2014, over three hundred people lost their lives, most of them schoolchildren. Years later, the victims’ families and survivors are still demanding justice from national authorities.

The Memory of Water

The secretive rules of nature spread out to be extraordinary beauty. Water is a lifeform that remembers and reflects everything. Following the nature of this water and the mysterious record of the ecosystem leads to the wonderful four seaons of the Bongha Village and the late Roh Moo-hyun's ambitious visions. What is the future he dreamt of back in his home, carrying out biological agricultural technology?

PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Opening Ceremony: Peace in Motion

Plot unavailable

Rivercide: The Secret Six

The Grand Canal project was one of the key pledges of the former President Lee. He first said that he was carrying out a project to save the four rivers but it was a lie. He eventually proceeded the project which was a hotbed of all kinds of irregularities. After ten years, now the river is dying. Some people collaborated to the past regime, and some resisted it. On whom will we stand?

Quo Vadis

The church is the body of Christ. In Greece, the church embodied a philosophy. Then in Rome, it became an institution. Spreading throughout Europe, it became one with the culture there. Traveling to the US, the church became a business. And when it arrived in Korea, it became a conglomerate. The top five largest churches in the world are located in Korea. However, Christ has long been absent in the nation. So then, what is the church? Who is Jesus Christ? What kind of world do Christians want? If the church is indeed the body of Christ, then we must ask the questions point-blank. Where do we stand in all this? And where exactly are we headed? Korean churches—“Quo Vadis?” Korean society—“Quo Vadis?”

Jeju Prayer

Focusing on Mrs. Kang Sang-hee’s life, she lost her husband in the Jeju Uprising (March 3rd, 1948). The film views the dark-side of Jeju Island, a huge grave, which is completely opposite of the other side of the island, the famous tourist attraction. It says that the tragedy has been going on about the recent Gang-jeong village situation.

Project Cheonan Ship

Interpreting an event of ROKS Cheonan corvette, torpedoed and sunken by North Korea, this documentary rebuilds the event with a different insight. No one can tell if the investigation of Cheonan has reached compelling conclusion. But the film tells and reveals how unreasonable Korean society is.

Rememberance of MB

The public yearns for a hero who will solve the economic crisis, and MB bursts onto the scene. However, what made voters excited now makes them disappointed. How the then voters were seen from the MB’s perspective? A political documentary that makes people laugh and cry.

Miracle on Jongno Street

A story about 4 gay men who try to lead a normal life in Korea, the conservative and harsh country for LGBT in Asia. In the middle of making a queer film Jun-moon, a director, loses his self-confidence due to social scrutiny regarding his sexual orientation. Byung-gwon, a gay rights activist, has been participating in movements to establish equal rights for homosexual laborers. Young-soo, a chef who moved from the countryside 15 years ago, lived a lonely life but he finds happiness after joining a gay choir. Yol, who works for a major company, dreams of the day him and his partner, can have a legal wedding with overcoming the prejudice against people living with HIV/AIDS.

The Red Filter is Withdrawn.

If you look into the entrance of one of the huge caves on the Korean island of Jeju, it looks like a camera lens. If you walk into the cave, it looks like a screen, a rectangle showing clouds and white light, just like a film. Director Kim Minjung delves into the bloody history of Jeju, where tens of thousands were killed in a massacre in 1948. The camera follows the traces in the landscape, sometimes transformed by a strident, distance-creating red light, accompanied by a commentary by avant-garde filmmaker Hollis Frampton. Film as a means to address history and its taboos.

Light A Candle, Write A History - Candlelight Revolution

Plot unavailable

From the Kill Pen

Horse slaughter is more than inhumane. It's big business.

Candle in the Wave

Project 1 _ Hong Hyung-sook The children who are enthusiastically painting and cutting a doll. What stories will be told at the Square? - Project 10 _ Kim Jeong-geun The janitorial worker from the Busan Subway Station, Kim Young-ja talks about how she hopes to see a clean world, just like how she cleans everywhere in the subway.

Gureombi, The Wind is Blowing

The story of the ancient and sacred Gureombi Rock. The story of the people of Gangjeong Village who rise up against the construction of a US/Korea Naval base on their holy and precious land. The winds of peace, like the winds of Jeju Island, are blowing.

Shadow Flowers

Ryun-hee Kim, a North Korean housewife, was forced to come to South Korea and became its citizen against her will. As her seven years of struggle to go back to her family in North Korea continues, the political absurdity hinders her journey back to her loved ones. The life of her family in the North goes on in emptiness, and she fears that she might become someone, like a shadow, who exists only in the fading memory of her family.​