The 27th JEONJU International Film Festival (JEONJU IFF, Festival Co-Directors MIN Sungwook and JUNG Junho) presents Back to Hong Kong: Cinema + Avant-garde.
Under the Cinephile JEONJU section, this year’s JEONJU IFF launches a special program, Back to Hong Kong: Cinema + Avant-garde. This special program features works from M+, Asia’s global museum of contemporary visual culture, located in Hong Kong. The majority of the films in this program have been restored in 4K through the museum’s M+ Restored and the Asian Avant-Garde Film Collection initiatives.
Sung MOON, programmer of JEONJU IFF, expressed her gratitude to M+, recognizing their contribution to the restoration of the films. She commented, “It is an honour to present these distinctive and accomplished works, which for a variety of reasons have not received the recognition they deserve, to Korean audiences for the first time.”
The special program highlights 7 independent and arthouse films, 4 features and 3 shorts, that have remained relatively overlooked from the Hong Kong cinema. Spanning the 1960s to now, the majority of the selection offers a compelling look at diverse cinematic experiments that engaged with the Hong Kong film scene during a transformative period.
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| △ From the left: The Arch, Love Massacre |
Significant restorations by M+ Restored include T’ANG Shushuen’s The Arch (1968), a pioneering art-house work that captures repressed female emotions through a European aesthetic. The Arch is one of the films under ‘M+ Restored’, an initiative supported by M+’s major partner CHANEL.
Joining the lineup is Patrick TAM, known as a mentor and collaborator of WONG Kar-wai, who directed Love Massacre (1981). The film is a stylish blend of drama and thriller, featuring the masterful art direction of William CHANG and a captivating performance by Brigitte LIN, a key figure in the 1980s Hong Kong cinema boom in Korea. Love Massacre is one of the films under ‘M+ Restored’, an initiative supported by M+’s major partner CHANEL.
The Private Revolutions, Public Spaces: Works from the M+ Asian Avant-Garde Film Collection, presents three of the most avant-garde works in the selection, marking its debut at JEONJU IFF.
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| △ From the left: Untitled 77-A, Dysfunction No. 3, Revolutions Happen Like Refrains in a Song |
This lineup includes Untitled 77-A (1977) by HAN Okhi, a leading figure in experimental filmmaking who resisted South Korea's Yushin regime by famously wielding her 16mm camera as a tool for political and artistic defiance and Dysfunction No. 3 (1983) by Taiwanese conceptual artist CHEN Chieh-jen. Completing the selection is Revolutions Happen Like Refrains in a Song (1987) by Philippine queer cinema pioneer Nick DEOCAMPO. The Asian Avant-Garde Film Collection is supported by CHANEL.
All films were produced during periods of martial law in their respective countries and take the street as their primary stage. Together they offer a record of resistance: artists calling for change against oppressive regimes, and the diverse forms through which such resistance found expression in the moving image, from essay film and performance to experimental cinema.
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△ From the left: Ombres de soie (Shades of Silk), Palimpsest: The Story of a Name |
Lastly, the Hong Kong born director Mary STEPHEN made Ombres de soie (Shades of Silk) (1978), whose restoration is made possible by the generous support of M+, Hong Kong, 2024. Set in 1935 Shanghai but shot in Paris, the film follows two Chinese women who were childhood friends, addressing the themes of colonization, migration, and belonging.
These 6 titles from M+, Hong Kong support will be presented at the JEONJU International Film Festival this year. Additionally, we have also included Mary STEPHEN’s recent work, Palimpsest: The Story of a Name (2025), in which she explores her own family history through her name. She is best known for her work as an editor for Éric ROHMER, and her career as a director is equally deserving of renewed attention.
Restored films from the Back to Hong Kong: Cinema + Avant-garde section will meet the audience in Jeonju at the 27th JEONJU International Film Festival, which will run for 10 days from April 29 (Wed) to May 8 (Fri).
The 27th JEONJU IFF Back to Hong Kong: Cinema + Avant-garde Selection
| Title |
Director |
Country |
Year |
Genre |
| Love Massacre |
Patrick TAM |
Hong Kong |
1981 |
Fiction |
| Ombres de soie (Shades of Silk)
|
Mary STEPHEN |
France, Canada |
1978 |
Fiction |
| The Arch
|
T'ANG Shushuen
|
Hong Kong
|
1968
|
Fiction
|
| Palimpsest: The Story of a Name
|
Mary STEPHEN |
France, Hong Kong, Taiwan |
2025 |
Documentary |
Private Revolutions, Public Spaces:
Works from the M+ Asian Avant-Garde Film Collection
※Listed in the year of production
| Title |
Director |
Country |
Year |
Genre |
| Untitled 77-A
|
HAN Okhi |
Korea |
1977 |
Experimental |
| Dysfunction No.3
|
CHEN Chieh-Jen |
Taiwan |
1983 |
Experimental |
| Revolutions Happen Like Refrains in a Song
|
Nick DEOCAMPO |
Philippines |
1987 |
Experimental |
|
