These are ten feature films you shouldn’t miss at the Film Festival for Women’s Rights which will take place from September 20 – 24, 2023 at ARTNINE, Seoul, Korea.

Bangla Surf Girls by Elizabeth D. Costa – Bangladesh | 2021 – 86 minutes | Documentary
Bangla Surf Girls is an immersive documentary that takes us into the heart of Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, where we witness the transformation of young girls who join a local surf club and dare to dream of escape from the threat of early childhood marriage. The documentary captures the raw emotions, the family dynamics, and the complex pressures of poverty. Balancing the freedom of the waves with the restrictive realities of their circumstances, we experience the thrill and struggle of coming-of-age in a developing country. (FIWOM 2023)

Trailer:

Dream Palace by KA Sung-moon – Korea | 2022 – 112 minutes | Fiction
Hye-jeong, who lost her husband in an industrial accident, moves with her son Dong-wook to a new town apartment named Dream Palace’ she purchased with the accident settlement fee.

However, a constructional defect occurs in the apartment and to earn the cost for the repairment, she promotes the discount sale of the apartment following the suggestion of Yong-min, who introduced her the apartment. In the meantime, she reunites with Su-in, her colleague during the protest, and recommends the apartment to purchase. (FIWOM 2023)

Trailer:

Hunting in Packs by Chloe Sosa-Sims – Canada | 2022 – 84 minutes | Documentary
The 3 female politicians in this film, Jess Phillips (Labour, UK) Pramila Jayapal (Democrat, US) & Michelle Rempel Garner (Conservative, Canada), represent different ends of the political spectrum, with different constituents and vastly different agendas. That said, they share one common fight – enacting bold policy in the face of an outdated political establishment. Taking place in three Western countries, the film will explore three democracies currently being rocked by the deep polarization of party politics. (FIWOM 2023)

Trailer:

Life Unrehearsed by BANPARK Jieun – Korea | 2022 – 80 minutes | Documentary
Thirty-six years ago, Lee Soohyun met Kim In-sun at a Korean Christian Women’s Association retreat in Germany and gifted her flowers. Despite threats from her then-husband and the disapproval of Korean society, In-sun found love and chose to be with Soohyun. Now, the two of them—who came to work as nurses in a foreign country where they knew nothing of the language—are still there and already in their 70s. For 30 years, they have lived together in Berlin and shared in all the joys and sorrows of life. Soohyun and In-sun have stood in solidarity with other foreigners like themselves while also looking after one another. They are two people who overcame boundaries. This is their love story. (FIWOM 2023)

Trailer:

Moving On by Paul Weitz – USA | 2022 – 85 minutes | Fiction
Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin star as estranged friends who reunite to seek revenge on the petulant widower (Malcolm McDowell) of their recently deceased best friend. Along the way, Fonda’s character reunites with her great love (Richard Roundtree) as each woman learns to make peace with the past and each other. (FIWOM 2023)

Trailer:

Peafowl by BYUN Sung-Bin – Korea | 2022 – 115 minutes | Fiction
Myung is a transgender who cut ties with her family and hometown because of who she is. Now, all she needs is the surgery but the only way to earn money, by winning the Waacking dance competition, didn’t go well. One day, she receives a call that her father passed away and Myung finds out that her father left a will that he will give her the legacy if she performs Drum Dance during his 49th memorial ritual. With no choice left, Myung goes back to her hometown to perform according to her father’s will. (FIWOM 2023)

Trailer:

Sandstorm by Park Jaemin – Korea | 2023 – 78 minutes | Documentary
With the birth of the first female Ssireum champion in 2009, female wrestlers expect to have formal competitions and business teams. In the next 10 years, five female wrestlers who overcame unpopular sports and survived struggle to become Ssireum champions. (FIWOM 2023)

Spanton vs the French Police by Ovidie – France | 2022 – 63 minutes | Documentary
With this film, the director Ovidie takes a new look at the question of consent. A news item that has made the headlines in France but also in Canada. The story of a young Canadian woman who was allegedly raped in the premises of the mythical Quai des Orfèvres, the headquarters of the judicial brigade in the heart of Paris. An emblematic but also universal story in the post #Metoo era. (FIWOM 2023)

Trailer:

The Ripple by LIM Seung-hyun – Korea | 2022 – 99 minutes | Fiction
A small town near the river in Gangwon-do. Yebun (female, 60s) heads to the riverside every day with a metal detector to find her granddaughter Su-Jeong (female, 15), who went missing in a rafting accident a year ago. One day, Ye-bun’s old friend Ok-im (female. 60s) visits and asks Ye-bun to raise her granddaughter Ji-yoon (female, 16) instead when Ok-im dies. (FIWOM 2023)

Trailer:

What Bonds Us by Kim YoonKyum, Yun NuRi, Yeo Inseo, Yoo Jaewon, Lim Subin – Korea | 2023 – 84 minutes | Documentary
How are depression and anxiety among women in their 20s and 30s linked to the huge structure of discrimination? The film, which consists of four chapters and an epilogue, talks about mid-pregnancy and mental illness based on a private narrative, overlaps the experience of discrimination from other generations, and looks back on the boundaries that divide the parties and non-parties. Through the five stories, we want to find the possibility of connections that can counter discrimination and hatred. (FIWOM 2023)

For more information, please visit: http://fiwom.org/eng/