Archive

Archive

2021 DIGITAL SCREENINGS

— Korean Diaspora

Korea Diaspora Programme presents ethnic Korean overseas and North Korean defector films. The programme encourages the audiences to understand and sympathize with ethnic Koreans by exploring their diasporic lives and identities through the films.

Jeromino: The Untold Tale of Koreans in Cuba
Director: Joseph Juhn | 93 minutes

From a chance encounter with a Korean Cuban taxi driver, Director Joseph Juhn picks up the scent of a remarkable tale – and fortunately for all of us, he has the presence of mind to start filming. Jeronimo Lim is a fascinating character, and would be worthy of documenting in film in his own right. But beyond his personal charm and accomplishments, his biography provides a unique view into an often overlooked intersection of the Korean Diaspora and Latin American history. Juhn provides a platform for Lim’s family and other Korean Cubans to share their compelling stories.

This screening is co-presented by
Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival
Happy Cleaners
Director: Julian Kim, Peter S. Lee | 96 minutes
When a new landlord comes around, Mr. and Mrs. Choi find their dry cleaning business, Happy Cleaners in Flushing, Queens, in jeopardy of closing after 17 years. While they make every effort to save the business, their daughter Hyunny and son Kevin are also at their own tough crossroads of life under the pressure of their parents’ high hopes. Struggling through economic turmoil, cultural clashes, and generational divide, the Choi family realizes that the only way to be stronger is to embrace each other.
I Bought a Time Machine
Director: Yeon Park | 14:35 minutes
The filmmaker orders a time machine off of eBay for her father’s birthday. With the mysterious device, she begins an unexpected journey into her family’s past.

— Korean Canadian Showcase

Korean Canadian Showcase is a celebration of Korean-Canadian filmmakers and their works. The showcase introduces talented Korean-Canadian filmmakers and allows the audiences to look into their unique perspectives that cross cultural and geographic borders through their films.

Crunch Time
Director: Jaemi Lee | 1:13 minutes
A night before a student showcase, Janitress Jan finds an uninvited guest that should not be welcome in school.
Into Such Assembly
Director: Helen Lee | 5:20 minutes
Based on Myung Mi Kim’s iconic poem, this exquisitely made essay film explores cultural transformations and dislocations of national identity and the Korean diaspora. Music by Do Make Say Think.
Signal Fire
Director: Alice Il Shin | 8:45 minutes

A young man accompanies his stoic Chinese grandfather-in-law to visit a loved one’s grave. When they begin to pay their respects, the young man soon realizes how little he knows about traditional Chinese practices and ends up closing the distance between his grandfather-in-law and himself. This film looks at the gaps within intergenerational knowledge and wonders how one might find connection.

Sunday
Director: Kim Hayung | 3:08 minutes

Sunday is a semi-autobiographical animation based on the filmmaker’s childhood memories of growing up within her father’s church.

What Came Before
Director: Jae Lew, Caroline So Jung Lee | 3:06 minutes

What Came Before is a short experimental documentary filmed within Mount Pleasant and Chinatown on unceded Coast Salish Territories, also known as Vancouver, BC. Jae Lew and Caroline So Jung Lee created double exposures on a single 16mm roll, exploring the diversity of Asian experiences and transformations made visible through the natural world.

This event was made possible by you and our partner
A City of Toronto Cultural Hotspot SPARK Project
Sponsored by
Pleasure Dome
Co-presented by
Reel Asian
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