These are ten feature films you shouldn’t miss at the Seoul International Children’s Film Festival which will take place from September 13 – 20, 2023 in Seoul, Korea.

Four Souls of Coyote by Áron GAUDER – Hungary | 2023 – 107 minutes
Native American teenagers confront an oil pipeline project, which is just down the hill from their ancestral land. The grandfather evokes the ancient tale of their Creation, reminding all of us that we need to find our place in the great circle of creatures. (SICFF 2023)

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Fourth Place by JUNG Ji-woo – Korea | 2015 – 116 minutes
In this captivating story, three individuals come together: a once-successful coach who experienced a downfall after claiming first place, a boy who finds happiness despite his fourth-place ranking, and a determined mother on a mission to turn that fourth place into an extraordinary triumph. (SICFF 2023)

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Frybread Face and Me by Billy LUTHER – USA | 2021 – 89 minutes
It’s 1990. Benny is a Native American boy growing up in San Diego who plays with dolls and listens to Fleetwood Mac. Everything Benny thinks he knows about himself and his family is turned upside down when his parents force him to spend the summer at his Grandma Lorraine’s sheep ranch on the reservation in Arizona. (SICFF 2023)

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Inner Child by SON Min-young – Korea | 2023 – 95 minutes
Joo-ho, residing in a military barracks area, exploits his friend Jae-beom to settle his debt with Il-taek, the commander’s son. Ignoring Jae-boem’s suffering caused by his actions, Joo-ho remains trapped. A new friend, Damian, rescues him from the crisis, but Joo-ho’s relentless pursuit of revenge is challenged when Damian has a change of heart at a critical moment. (SICFF 2023)

Mother Land by PARK Jae-beom – Korea | 2022 – 69 minutes
Krisha is the daughter of the Yates who are the nomad tribe of the tundra. To save her sick mother, she follows the words of Shaman and takes off on her adventure to the end of Northern land to find the red bear she saw in her dreams. (SICFF 2023)

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Sea Sparkle by Domien HUYGHE – Belgium, Netherlands | 2023 – 98 minutes
A North Sea fisherman dies at sea under mysterious circumstances. His daughter Lena suspects foul play and believes a massive, unknown sea creature is responsible. Determined to prove her theory, Lena faces skepticism from everyone, even her best friend. As she catches glimpses of a colossal shadow beneath the waves, she becomes determined to reveal the truth. (SICFF 2023)

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The Hill of Secrets by LEE Ji-eun – Korea | 2022 – 122 minutes
A coming-of-age story of Myung-eun, a 12-year-old girl with exceptional emotional sensitivity who gains deeper understanding of herself and her family through the power of writing. (SICFF 2023)

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The Ripple by LIM Seung-hyun – Korea | 2022 – 100 minutes
A small town near the river in Gangwon-do. Yebun heads to the riverside every day with a metal detector to find her granddaughter Su-Jeong, who went missing in a rafting accident a year ago. One day, Ye-bun’s old friend Ok-im visits and asks Ye-bun to raise her granddaughter Ji-yoon instead when Ok-im dies. (SICFF 2023)

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The Wonder of a Summer Day by IBAYASHI Yuka – Japan | 2022 – 87 minutes
Kanata and her younger sister Sumire have been living apart since their parents’ divorce. Kanata is having trouble adjusting to her new school and is spending her summer holiday helping her mother run her snack bar. When Kanata’s mother suggests that she go to her grandmother’s house for a final summer holiday memory, Kanata heads into the countryside.  (SICFF 2023)

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Totem by Sander BURGER – Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg | 2022 – 97 minutes
Ama, a dedicated swimmer, practices for the championships with her best friend Thijs. While feeling fully Dutch, her parents, rejected asylum seekers from Senegal, live illegally in the Netherlands. When her mother and brother are detained, Ama embarks on a quest through Rotterdam to find her father, meeting a giant porcupine along the way. (SICFF 2023)

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For more information, please visit: https://www.sicff.kr/eng/