‘Crossings’ tells the story of a women’s march for the unification of North and South Korea.
The Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) will celebrate its 45th anniversary with a new round of independent Asian, Asian diaspora and Pacific Islander cinema.
The hybrid festival runs from Aug. 3 to 13 in New York City, with the full lineup reflecting AAIFF’s and Asian CineVision’s historical roots with community activists and storytellers. This year the festival includes a selection of documentaries and short films from 73 directors, 24 countries and in 20 languages.
Several films touch on the Korean and Korean-American experience, including Free Chol Soo Lee which will be the festival’s opening night film. Directed by Julie Ha and Eugene Yi, the documentary tells the story of Korean immigrant, Chol Soo Lee, whose arrest ignited an unprecedented social justice movement.
‘Free Chol Soo Lee’ will be the festival’s opening night film.
The festival also features Crossings, a documentary that follows a group of international women peacemakers, who set out on a risky journey across the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, calling for an end to the 70-year war that continues to divide the Korean peninsula and its people.
Two more Korean films on the festival schedule are Chosen, a documentary focused on the five Korean Americans who ran for Congress in 2020, and Dawning, a film about a trauma therapist, who is forced to face her family’s darkest past after returning to her childhood farm.
The first AAIFF festival opened in 1978 at the Henry Street Settlement in New York City. Since then, AAIFF has screened films from all over the world, providing the U.S. premieres of acclaimed film directors such as Wayne Wang, Mira Nair, Marilou Diaz-Abaya and Ang Lee. As well as organizing the festival, Asian CineVision (ACV) produces and exhibits films and video programs about the experience and culture of Asian and Asian American communities. ACV also provides consultation and technical assistance for artists, cultural and media organizations.
The full schedule is available on the festival site.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmacdonald/2022/07/30/korean-documentaries-to-air-at-asian-american-international-film-festival/