By Honorary Reporter Ana Paula Camacho Perez from Mexico
Photos = Ana Paula Camacho Perez

Founded in the 1920s, the iconic movie theater Babylon in Berlin hosted from Nov. 2-10 last year the Korea Independent Film Festival. The range of Korean works shown at the event in Germany included "A Tour Guide" (2023), "Christmas Carol" (2022) and "Greenhouse" (2022).

The opening ceremony was attended by directors who presented their works, cast members, creators and cinema enthusiasts eager to see the premiere of "Greenhouse" directed by Lee Sol-hui. Members from the Korean Cultural Center in Berlin began the event by introducing the directors and actors of the films including director Lee and actor Lee Seol, who played the lead in "A Tour Guide."  

The opening film was "I'm Winter 1963" (2023), a short documentary on Korean miners who went to work in West Germany in the 1960s to face unexpectedly harsh conditions, low salaries and other adversity. This eye-opening work tells the stories of these workers seeking opportunity abroad and the differences between their expectations and reality. 

The screening of "Greenhouse" came afterwards, telling the story of a woman struggling with mental illness who works as a caregiver for an elderly couple. She tries to get her son to live with her after his release from a juvenile detention center. 

I saw the greenhouse the protagonist lives in as both her haven and place of despair, as the film provokes thought on mental health and interpersonal relations. After the screening, the director held a Q&A session that made me see how she sought a more realistic approach to the structure of her film.

jihlee08@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.