Known for his art-house and commercial works concerned with contemporary social issues and exploring sexuality, director E J-yong examines the life of Bacchus ladies. Elderly ladies who prostitute in Jongmyo Park and offer Bacchus energy drink as an excuse to perform sexual deeds to maintain themselves financially. Set partially in…

Awkward and funny dialogues with a sociocultural awareness touch Premiering at JIFF in 2017 and winning Best Emerging Director at Locarno Film Festival, Kim Dae-hwan’s second feature explores the relationship of an early-thirty-something couple who navigates through social pressure and the stagnation of their careers and relationship. The issue Having been together for almost seven years, Su-hyeon (Cho Hyun-chul), an art…

Loosely based on her real-life story as a producer for film maestro Hong Sang-soo, Cho-hee Kim debuts as director with a romantic-comedy drama that explores existential questions of a life crisis while winking at the filmmaking industry and film-enthusiast. Work = life In her 40s film producer Chan-sil sees her dreams die in…

Based on a true story from 1996, the award-winning Thai comedy The Iron Ladies follows a volleyball team composed mainly of gays and kathoey (transgender person) that prepares for the Thai national championship. The 2001 debut film of Youngyooth Thongkonthun explores the struggles that are still present in the Thai…

Based on the book of the same name by Jorge Amado (1966), Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands (1976), directed by Bruno Barreto, became one of the most successful Brazilian films in the history of the country until years later in the 2000s, when a crime thriller film took over. …

The origin story that we were all waiting for — A side story of the original Netflix’ series Kingdom (2019) based on the Korean Webtoon of the same name and directed by the same filmmaker Kim Seong-Hun, Kingdom: Ashin of the North explains the origin of the zombies and how they spread. The start of all sadness and chaos Focusing on the character Ashin [Kim Si-a (child)…

One thing that one can expect for sure from watching a Gaspar Noé film is a shock. A sexual, violent, disturbing shock. Coming to the international eye with Irréversible’s distressing rape scene and with his soft porn Love, Noé knows how to capture the viewer’s attention. …

A rough take on life through the lens of a mobster Premiering at the 77th Venice International Film Festival in 2020, and released on Netflix in 2021 due to the pandemic, Night in Paradise demonstrates the quality work that filmmaker Park Hoon-jung (The Witch: Part 1. …

From director Takashi Shimizu (Ju-On, a.k.a. The Grudge) and based on the manga series “Homunculus” by Hideo Yamamoto (Ichi the Killer manga series), comes the live-action version of the same name. Homunculus (2021) shows Shimizu’s mastery in horror and thriller, accompanied with incredible creativity, but with a few narrative and…