Joo Hyeon-sook (주현숙)

Women's film fest features migration and lesbian issues

Source | 2007/04/06 | Permalink |

One woman chooses to become an illegal immigrant to pay for her son's hospital fees. Another is pushed into forced labor after her passport is stolen in a foreign country. Still another is virtually sold into matrimony to a man from another country whom she does not know.
The stories are sad. But what makes them more tragic is that they are true, and happening at this very moment around the world.
The Women's Film Festival in Seoul chose migrant women as its major focus this year. Among the series of documentaries, there are nine made by migrant women themselves, in which they talk about their lives in rural Korea after leaving their homes to marry Koreans.
Over 17 days, women from Vietnam, the Philippines and China documented how they adjusted to Korean life. They are planning to be present on the days of the screenings and meet the audience for a special "Master Class" session the festival will include.
As for films from professional directors, Joo Hyeon-sook tells the story o...| More

Better Understanding of Women

Source | 2007/03/26 | Permalink |

9th Seoul Women's Film Festival to Open Thursday

By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter

Under the slogan of "See the World Through Women's Eyes", the Women's Film Festival in Seoul (WFFIS) has helped improve the understanding of women's issues during the past eight years.

But, if you're under the impression that the festival is a boring and instructive series of feminist lectures, you're mistaken. In fact, the event has filled over 90 percent of its seats during past festivals and has attracted a diverse audience with interesting films and various other programs.

The festival, in its ninth year, will kick off this Thursday and run through April 12 at the Artreon Theater in Shinchon, northern Seoul.

"Our main concern is to maintain the balance", Kim Sun-ah, the chief programmer of WFFIS, said. "We try to offer a range of interesting films as a festival and at the same time deal with current important issues for women".

Opening with "Antonia _ O Filme" by Brazilian director Ta...| More