The Liu Institute's film series Voicing Intergenerational Trauma in Postwar Korea and Japan through Contemporary Cinema presents the film Defectors (2023), a documentary that confronts the impact of the Korean War on different generations, followed by a Q&A session with the film's director, Hyun Kyung Kim.
About the Film
Combining a humorous and affectionate family portrait, a historical film, and a search for identity, Defectors (2023) confronts the impact of the Korean War on different generations. Through encounters with a North Korean defector, Hyun Kyung Kim reflects on her separation from her loved ones—such as her whimsical mother, whom she left behind in Korea upon moving to the United States.
84 minutes | Not Rated
Directed by Hyun Kyung Kim
Korean and English with English and French subtitles
Winner of the Special Jury Award: Visions du Réel International Film Festival, Nyon, Switzerland 2023
Tickets
Tickets are $4-7 for the general public and are free for ND, SMC, HC, and IUSB students. Contact the box office at 574-631-2800 or visit performingarts.nd.edu.
About the Director
Hyun Kyung Kim is an independent filmmaker from Seoul, South Korea, who has directed and edited four feature-length documentaries about people’s struggles under adverse social and political situations. Kim earned degrees in film at New York University and California Institute of the Arts and went on to direct numerous short documentaries for MBC, a South Korean TV network. Her films have won a number of awards and were screened in international film festivals and art venues, including The Museum of Modern Art, Centre Pompidou, FIDMarseille, Viennale, BAFICI, Busan International Film Festival, and Visions du Réel. She was a recipient of the Harvard Radcliffe Institute Fellowship in 2008.
About the Series
This event is part of the film series Voicing Intergenerational Trauma in Postwar Korea and Japan through Contemporary Cinema. The series was organized by Amanda Kennell, assistant professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Cecilia Kim, assistant professor of Film, Television, & Theatre, and Paul Lee, PhD student in sociology and peace studies.
Sponsors
Sponsored by the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, and Franco Family Institute for Liberal Arts and the Public Good.