These are our twenty recommended short films from the Seoul International Women’s Film Festival, which will take place from August 22 – 28, 2024 in Seoul, South Korea.

Bra~vo by Park Gaon – Korea | 2023 – 18 minutes | World Premiere

Naeun, who used to wear comfortable bras, starts to wear white lace underwear and wired bras to join Yesamo, the ‘pretty bra lovers’ group’. Naeun feels uncomfortable with Yesamo, but the happiness of hanging out with popular kids outweighs her discomfort. In the process, however, Naeun grows distant from her close friend Jei.  (SIWFF 2024)

Cicadas by Kang Mina – Korea | 2024 – 28 minutes | World Premiere

On the last day of a boring school trip, Jaeyoung and Yoonji break away from the group. (SIWFF 2024)

Circle by Joung Yumi – Korea | 2024 – 7 minutes

The girl draws a circle on the ground. Passersby step into it, one by one. Soon the circle is full of people, struggling to stay within. Once the girl returns and erases the circle, people start heading their way. (SIWFF 2024)

Trailer:

Daughter Doi by Jang Hee Eun – Korea | 2024 – 32 minutes | World Premiere

Doi, who lives with her mother Seon-kyung, does not like the boy her only friend So-jin is getting close to. Meanwhile, she starts to get suspicious about Seon-kyung’s romantic relationship, and everything begins to bother her. (SIWFF 2024)

D-Day, Friday by Lee Yida – Korea | 2024 – 27 minutes

The year is 1984 in Gwangju, and the enthusiasm for the professional baseball league is heating up. Eunju, a teenage girl, wants to go to a high school baseball game where the boy she has a crush on will be playing. (SIWFF 2024)

In May 1980, the new military dictatorship in South Korea violently suppressed the pro-democracy protests in Gwangju. The crackdown led to a ten-day massacre in which thousands were killed and wounded. The massacre was kept secret in South Korea for decades and has still not been fully investigated.​ (SIWFF 2024)

Trailer:

Don’t Wanna Stay Low by Lee Gaeun – Korea | 2024 – 16 minutes

Sorim is always mindful to not cause unnecessary noise that might disturb her neighbors, but she receives a note from her downstairs neighbor telling her “Keep it down.” (SIWFF 2024)

Farewell, Saranghae, Farewell by Hong Sunhye – Japan | 2023 – 27 minutes | World Premiere

Naho and Hitomi are a high school girl couple living in a rural town in Japan. Naho wants to be a K-POP idol in Korea, and Hitomi supports her devotedly despite never believing such a dream to be a reality. When Naho passes one of the auditions for being Kpop Idol, Hitomi decides to collect empty plastic bottles to take unexpected action. (SIWFF 2024)

Hansel: Two School Skirts by Lim Jisun – Korea | 2024 – 29 minutes

Shortly before the start of music class, where the teacher forces the students to sing as a punishment, Hansel, a high school student, realizes that she has forgotten to bring her recorder. For Hansel, the idea of singing in front of her classmates is worse than death, so she rushes home to get her. (SIWFF 2024)

Trailer:

Homecoming by Moon Hae-jun – Korea | 2023 – 18 minutes

Kim Youngju, a corporate contractor, does not receive the usual holiday gift from work so dearly prized by her parents: the luxurious layer cake from Patisserie Lee Jong Yeh. She heads straight to the boulangerie and runs into Choi Heeji, an apprentice patissier who just got kicked out. (SIWFF 2024)

Learning English by Liu Jean – USA, UK | 2023 – 12 minutes | Asian Premiere

Hannah’s first week in the US isn’t going as expected. Rejected by everyone she meets, even her own friend, it seems nobody has time to practice English with her. So when she’s propositioned by a couple looking for a phone sex participant, Hannah uses the conversation as an opportunity to finally get some English practice in. However, as the phone call progresses, Hannah realises that this is a situation where online translators just won’t cut it, and she’s going to have to get resourceful with her vocab book if she wants to help this couple cum like a true fluent English speaker. (SIWFF 2024)

Trailer:

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