London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

Event news: Women Now — a night of short movies at the KCC

The second event in the KCC’s “Patchworks: Unwrapping My Korean Cinema” season is an evening of short films:

Shorts Night: Women Now

Directors: Yann Kerloc’h | Minha Kim | Yun Joo Chang | Bang Woo-ri | Lee Su-jin | Nils Clauss
Running Time: 88 mins / Eng Subs
27 July, 7:00pm
Location: KCCUK
Booking: Free admission, booking essential. To reserve your place, please RSVP to [email protected] 02070042600 or register via Eventbrite

Women Now

This night of six short films illustrates how the experiences of women in Korea have changed since the 1930s. Responding to the stereotype that Kim Hong-joon defines in Smoking Women, these films question the legacy of the ‘femme fatale’ identity in contemporary filmmaking. Made by a mix of men, women, expats and emigres, these short films chronologically cover the female experience from childhood through to old age. In doing so, these short films collectively offer a new image and definition of the ‘millennial woman’: one who is finally in charge of her own destiny.

Like A B1 (중급불어)

Director: Yann Kerloc’h
South Korea & France, 2015, 15 mins

LIke A B1

In Seoul, a Korean girl is passing the French oral exam DELF. Yet the examiner’s questions lead her to speak unexpectedly about her difficult family story. With the stress, her low level of French gets worse, then unconsciously, she starts to express herself with gestures.

Sea Child (바다아이)

Director: Minha Kim
United Kingdom, 2015, 7 mins

Sea child

A poetic, almost silent hand-drawn animation, Sea Child follows Sora, a young girl on the verge of coming-of-age in downtown Seoul. Woken by a nightmare, the young Sora decides to follow a group of men into the city, in the hope of finding her mother. This moving and atmospheric short powerfully argues that notions of femininity and sexuality are learnt qualities, passed down from generation to generation.

Momo (모모)

Director: Yun Joo Chang
South Korea, 2016, 15 mins

Momo

In this refreshing take on millennial relationships, Sohee meets up with her ex-girlfriend Areum who is about to set off to live abroad in Germany. Given custody of Momo, the cat they once shared, Sohee brings the pet home to her current girlfriend Yujin and it becomes a reminder of her former relationship. This film is testament to how feelings of love and loss have not changed over the years.

Mrs Young (영희씨)

Director: Bang Woo-ri
South Korea, 2014, 26 mins

Mrs Young

Mrs. Young-hee is a middle-aged woman who runs a corner shop with the help of her son. Her life is irreversibly changed when a young man who looks just like her first love walks in, bearing bad news. In this delicate tale director Bang Woo-ri paints a rounded picture of womanhood shaped by past experiences and real emotions.

Son’s (아들의 것)

Director: Lee Su-jin
South Korea, 2006, 18 mins

Son's

A gentle meditation on the role of aging women in society, Son’s follows the life of an older mother in rural Korea. Living alone by a mudflat, she waits for her son to visit. Echoing her isolation in the quiet, routine life she leads, director Lee Su-jin’s film is a love letter to forgotten women, redressing the imbalance of older women not seen on the big screen.

Plastic Girls (플라스틱 걸즈)

Director: Nils Clauss
South Korea, 2017, 7 mins

Plastic girls

An aesthetically experimental journey, sitting somewhere between Wong Kar Wai and Gaspar Noe, director Nils Clauss’ short personifies the erotic ‘plastic girls’: sexually suggestive mannequins that greet shoppers at the entrance of commercial establishments. The film also reads as a quiet protest, suggesting that society still has some way to go before women are no longer signifiers of sexual desire.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.