The Korea Herald

지나쌤

Film fest sheds light on migrants’ lives in European cities

By Korea Herald

Published : Oct. 11, 2016 - 16:55

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In the Polish documentary “Kim Ki-dok,” filmmaker Patrick Yoka and journalist Jolanta Krysowata try to uncover the forgotten story behind the grave of 13-year-old girl Kim Ki-dok in Wroclaw, Poland, a country some 8,000 kilometers away from Kim’s birthplace in North Korea.

Organized by the Seoul Museum of History and the European Union National Institutes for Culture, this year’s EUNIC Film Festival, titled “Migrants in European Cities,” explores the history of the migrant crisis in Europe with films like “Kim Ki-dok.”

The event, which began on Oct. 1, opened with Italian director Gianfranco Rosi’s critically acclaimed documentary “Fire at Sea,” which takes viewers to the coast of the Sicilian island Lampedusa, where thousands of refugees from neighboring countries arrive every year, desperately seeking safety and a new start.

Poster for EUNIC Film Festival “Migrants in European Cities,” taking place every Saturday until Oct. 29 at the Seoul Museum of History (Seoul Museum of History) Poster for EUNIC Film Festival “Migrants in European Cities,” taking place every Saturday until Oct. 29 at the Seoul Museum of History (Seoul Museum of History)

On Oct. 15, the festival will screen Spanish filmmaker Jaime Rosales’ 2014 drama “Beautiful Youth” about a young couple victimized by the growing economic instability in modern-day Spain, and director Julie Bertuccelli’s 2013 documentary “School of Babel,” which features a French school designed for young immigrants to learn French and adapt to the country’s culture.

In the following week, the film festival will also introduce Swedish director Hannes Holm’s 2015 adaptation of Fredrik Backman’s novel “A Man Called Ove,” a heartwarming story about a widowed curmudgeon’s unlikely friendship with new young neighbors.

This year’s festival will close on Oct. 29 with the 45-minute long “Kim Ki-duk,” followed by a panel discussion with officials from the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Seoul.

The film festival takes place every Saturday until Oct. 29 at the Seoul Museum of History. Admission is free.

For more information, visit musuem.seoul.kr.

By Kim Yu-young (ivykim@heraldcorp.com)