Migrant Worker Fest Offers Colorful Shorts
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By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
The image of migrant workers in South Korea is usually limited to stark documentaries and news reports that become no more than somber sound bites and fragmented images.
Underway in Seoul until Sunday and in other parts of the country through September is the 4th Migrant Worker Film Festival, which spotlights the local foreign community and their migrant experiences through an array of films that breathe life, energy and feeling.
The majority of the 22 films from 14 countries are short works that showcase diverse styles and colorful perspectives that provide a well rounded look into the state of roaming ― and belonging.
Jason Kim presents a delightful, deliciously rhythmic piece "Hello" (Korea, 2008). Set against a chop-and-screw beat and chic urban visuals, the episodic drama features a couple of the most amiable screen personalities and the things that get lost in translation.
Chris is a smiley American who teaches English in Seoul and spends his free time toting his camera around town. He comes across a king crab at a restaurant aquarium, develops an affinity for it and decides to adopt it as a pet. The good-natured owner, who preps for his next chance encounter with Chris with an English phrase book for beginners, is happy to assist him. A slight miscommunication, however, alters the destiny of the helpless crab. Eight minutes. Featured in Invisible Worker Short Film 1.
Kim Tae-yeop directs and stars in the witty mockumentary (fake documentary) "Alien Blues" (Korea, 2008) that is set in a parallel universe where migration takes on an extraterrestrial dimension. The finely crafted slapstick, however does not compromise the film's poignant observation of the related issues of discrimination and human ― or alien ― rights. You will wonder whether to laugh or cry.
"Keronians" are an alien people with long, wispy nostril hair ― an evolutionary effect that supposedly keeps the sand out of their respiratory system back on their home planet. They have landed on Earth in search of jobs and find work in a Korean factory. The manager explains how the firm prefers Keronians because they are gentle and diligent, and naturally there are posters cautioning the migrant workers to be careful not to get their tresses stuck in the machines.
The fine quality of the hair has attracted the attention of local calligraphy brush makers. A deeply religious clan, the Keronians always pray to their god and groom their long locks with the utmost care ― and not without paying heed to fashion ― they don't budge an inch at the brush makers' lucrative offers.
But when one of the workers learns that his family may be in danger back at home, however, he finds how difficult it is for an alien to make a simple phone call. 20 minutes. Indivisible Worker Short Film 2.
"We Make Korea" (Burma/Korea, 2008) is an eclectic documentary-cum-music video that has that exciting, rough quality of User Created Content (UCC). Migrant worker band Stop Crack Down lip-syncs to the namesake rock melody, which is reminiscent of Yoon Do-hyun's "O Pilseung Korea", the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup "anthem", in a bathroom with Styrofoam instruments.
A classic rock song, it sings how migrant workers are an important part of the country's economy. Directed by Thein, a worker from Burma, who graduated from the media academy organized by Migrant Worker TV and Mediact. Seven minutes. The Migrant Lens.
"The Returnee" (Korea/Bangladesh/Nepal, 2009), directed by festival director Mahbub Lee, follows migrant workers' return home after a long sojourn in Korea. One Bangladeshi returnee, who is deported after partaking in demonstrations for workers' rights, finally meets his 12-year-old daughter for the first time. His elderly mother welcomes him back, saying that she was waiting for her son to be arrested so he could come back home. The fight for workers rights, however, has not stopped just because they left Korea. 20 minutes. Invisible Worker Short Film 1.
For more information about the festival visit http://www.mwff.org (Korean, English) or call 070-8612-1418.
Staff Reporter
The image of migrant workers in South Korea is usually limited to stark documentaries and news reports that become no more than somber sound bites and fragmented images.
Underway in Seoul until Sunday and in other parts of the country through September is the 4th Migrant Worker Film Festival, which spotlights the local foreign community and their migrant experiences through an array of films that breathe life, energy and feeling.
The majority of the 22 films from 14 countries are short works that showcase diverse styles and colorful perspectives that provide a well rounded look into the state of roaming ― and belonging.
Jason Kim presents a delightful, deliciously rhythmic piece "Hello" (Korea, 2008). Set against a chop-and-screw beat and chic urban visuals, the episodic drama features a couple of the most amiable screen personalities and the things that get lost in translation.
Chris is a smiley American who teaches English in Seoul and spends his free time toting his camera around town. He comes across a king crab at a restaurant aquarium, develops an affinity for it and decides to adopt it as a pet. The good-natured owner, who preps for his next chance encounter with Chris with an English phrase book for beginners, is happy to assist him. A slight miscommunication, however, alters the destiny of the helpless crab. Eight minutes. Featured in Invisible Worker Short Film 1.
Kim Tae-yeop directs and stars in the witty mockumentary (fake documentary) "Alien Blues" (Korea, 2008) that is set in a parallel universe where migration takes on an extraterrestrial dimension. The finely crafted slapstick, however does not compromise the film's poignant observation of the related issues of discrimination and human ― or alien ― rights. You will wonder whether to laugh or cry.
"Keronians" are an alien people with long, wispy nostril hair ― an evolutionary effect that supposedly keeps the sand out of their respiratory system back on their home planet. They have landed on Earth in search of jobs and find work in a Korean factory. The manager explains how the firm prefers Keronians because they are gentle and diligent, and naturally there are posters cautioning the migrant workers to be careful not to get their tresses stuck in the machines.
The fine quality of the hair has attracted the attention of local calligraphy brush makers. A deeply religious clan, the Keronians always pray to their god and groom their long locks with the utmost care ― and not without paying heed to fashion ― they don't budge an inch at the brush makers' lucrative offers.
But when one of the workers learns that his family may be in danger back at home, however, he finds how difficult it is for an alien to make a simple phone call. 20 minutes. Indivisible Worker Short Film 2.
"We Make Korea" (Burma/Korea, 2008) is an eclectic documentary-cum-music video that has that exciting, rough quality of User Created Content (UCC). Migrant worker band Stop Crack Down lip-syncs to the namesake rock melody, which is reminiscent of Yoon Do-hyun's "O Pilseung Korea", the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup "anthem", in a bathroom with Styrofoam instruments.
A classic rock song, it sings how migrant workers are an important part of the country's economy. Directed by Thein, a worker from Burma, who graduated from the media academy organized by Migrant Worker TV and Mediact. Seven minutes. The Migrant Lens.
"The Returnee" (Korea/Bangladesh/Nepal, 2009), directed by festival director Mahbub Lee, follows migrant workers' return home after a long sojourn in Korea. One Bangladeshi returnee, who is deported after partaking in demonstrations for workers' rights, finally meets his 12-year-old daughter for the first time. His elderly mother welcomes him back, saying that she was waiting for her son to be arrested so he could come back home. The fight for workers rights, however, has not stopped just because they left Korea. 20 minutes. Invisible Worker Short Film 1.
For more information about the festival visit http://www.mwff.org (Korean, English) or call 070-8612-1418.
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