Korean film festival hits Philippines

By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Neema Estores

Photos = Neema Estores, Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines, DMZ Docs

“In our generation, we don’t know Korea as one,” said Jero Yun (윤재호), director of the film “Mrs. B., a North Korean Woman” (마담 B) (2016) on the first day of the DMZ Docs Korean Film Festival in the Philippines.

The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) was established in 1953 when the United Nations, the North Korean army and the mainland Chinese army signed an armistice agreement. The DMZ serves as the border that divides North Korea and South Korea. The DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, also known as "DMZ Docs," which started in 2009, presents documentaries on various themes and styles that advocate peace, coexistence and reconciliation.

The Event

Seven internationally-acclaimed documentaries from South Korea were presented in the Philippine leg of the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, from May 11 to 13 at the University of the Philippines Film Institute. The DMZ Docs Korean Film Festival is hosted by the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines, in partnership with the University of the Philippines Korea Research Center. It's part of the ninth Annual DMZ International Documentary Film Festival in Korea to be held from September 21 to 28 in Goyang and Paju City in Korea this year.

The Documentaries

🔺 Mrs. B., a North Korean Woman (마담 B)

Director: Jero Yun (윤재호)

Year: 2016

Mrs. B, a wife and mother of two sons, crosses the Chinese border to make a living, but ends up being sold to a Chinese farmer. To support the family she left back in North Korea, she starts to smuggle people.

🔺 My Love Don’t Cross that River (님아, 그 강을 건너지 마오)

Director: Jin Mo-yeong (진모영) 

Year: 2014

The film is about the elderly couple of Jo Byeong-man and Kang Kye-yeol who have lived together for more than 75 years. Despite living together for so long, they are still passionate for each other and live quite happily.

🔺 Planet of Snail (달팽이의 별)

Director: Yi Seung-jun (이승준)

Year: 2012

This film covers the story of Young-chan, a deaf and blind writer who is married to a woman with a spinal deformity named Soon-ho. Although being differently able, the two show that they become one through communication and love.

🔺 The Emotional Society on Stage (감정의 시대: 서비스 노동의 관계미학)

Directors: Kim Sook-hyun (김숙현) and Cho Hye-jeong (조혜정) 

Year: 2014

This film exposes the hardships a worker encounters at work and the terrible working conditions of the service industry as they are forced to tolerate being humiliated.

🔺 Red Maria (레드 마리아)

Director: Kyung-soon (경순)

Year: 2011

This film covers the lives of different women living in Japan, the Philippines and Korea. The film follows the lives of a mother, a prostitute, a part-time worker, an immigrant worker and an old woman who had been forced into sexual slavery by Imperial Japan many years ago.

🔺 Summer Days in Bloom (옥탑방열기)

Directors: Go U-jung (고유정) and Roh Eun-ji (노은지)

Year: 2012

This film tells the story of two men infected by HIV and AIDS. Doo-yeol, after discovering that he is infected, hides himself. Gabriel, his partner, fights for LGBT rights and for the rights of people infected with HIV and AIDS.

🔺 Troublers (불온한 당신)

Director: Lee Young (이영)

Year: 2015

The LGBT community in Korea is often perceived by conservative people as being a "danger" to the nation’s safety, future and general well-being. This film follows Lee Young, a documentary filmmaker who is openly lesbian, as she researches an earlier generation of gays and lesbians in Korea. 

The Film Festival's Discussion Session

Director Jero Yun met with the audience after “Mrs. B., A North Korean Woman” was screened. He answered questions regarding his film and shared his hope of seeing Korea reunited as one. He ended the session by saying, “I can drink with a North Korean. I don’t have a problem with that, but the system doesn't give me the chance. It makes it into a complicated situation.”

wisdom117@korea.kr

Share this post