Asian Animation Short Festival: Monologue of Dreams ▶ KINO

Hoezo in KINO

Asian Movie Night is a roaming film initiative which introduces a wide range of Asian films of various genres to the public in the Netherlands, with curated themes and after-movie talks to open up relevant discussions on timely subjects. With our love for Asian cinema, which has still a lot to offer to the Dutch movie scene, we bring in different narratives and aesthetics to a broad audience through collaboration with different venues. Our aim is to foster cross-cultural understanding and cultivate a sense of empathy across differences through an experience centered around film.

About the curator:
Minhong Yu(1990), a Chinese-born curator, visual artist and cultural bridge-builder, currently resides in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She has obtained design and art degrees from Sandberg Instituut (Masters at Gerrit Rietveld Academie) and China Central Academy of Fine Arts. Living a life in-between two continents, Minhong embraces her dual cultural background, allowing it to inform and enrich her creative processes. Through her visual languages, she weaves a compelling dialogue between her Eastern roots and Western experiences, exploring the nuanced complexities of identity and the sense of belonging. Minhong is the creative producer from AMN. She has been a special events curator at the CinemAsia Film Festival and the guest curator for the Leiden Shorts and The One Minutes.

Credits

Speelduur: 76 minutes
Land: South Korea, China, Japan, Iran and Armenia
Taal: Original language
Ondertiteling: English

Storyline

Sensor Ship / dir. Jina Yoon / 2021 / KR / 2’: Pun definitely intended! In this voyage of ‘Sensor Ship’, Jina Yoon creates a thought-provoking film using surrealist and grotesque illustrations of contorted bodies accompanied by a soothing voice.
The Song of Flying Leaves / dir. Armine Anda / 2023 / AM & IR / 13’: Suna, a young girl, lives in a forest and sleeps in the leaves. One day, she meets a two-hundred-year-old man, who offers to pass on to her a hidden technique …
Bird in the Peninsula / dir. Atsushi Wada / 2022 / FR & JP / 16’: Seemingly a sly commentary on manhood standards and gender roles, Japanese director Atsushi Wada’s latest short dips into a sort of ritual mysticism. Bird in the Peninsula received a Special Mention at the 2022 Berlinale.
A Dog Under a Bridge / dir. Rehoo Tang / 2022 / CN / 13’ : A Dog Under a Bridge started with filmmaker Rehoo Tang walking under a bridge in China. There was a quiet, deserted, and wild park with people who seemed abandoned by society and who tried to eliminate the loneliness in their lives. To fit in, he imagined himself as a stray dog living alone. Rehoo Tang ended up winning the Jury Award for Best Graduation Film in Annecy.
It’s A Gray, Gray World / dir. Seyed Mohsen Pourmohseni Shakib / 2022 / IR / 6’: In a completely gray world, the colourful identity of a conservative young man is accidentally revealed by a playful boy. An Iranian short with a vital message to the world, and the Iranian regime.
Persona / dir. Sujin Moon / 2022 / KR / 7’: persona (noun) – the particular type of character that a person seems to have and that is often different from their real or private character. In her graduation short film, animator Moon Su-jin depicts the nightmarish process of being encroached on by the persona. Persona was the first Korean animated short to compete for the Palme d’Or for Best Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival.
Mui / dir. Weng Chon Wong / 2021 / CN / 8’ During a short bus trip, a young man and his elderly grandmother are confronted with horrible memories where it feels as if suffering will persist simultaneously in the past and in the present. Coming from Macao director Weng Chon Wong, the film is a wonderfully weird mix of styles and emotions.
I’m Late / dir. Sawako Kabuki / 2021 / FR & JP / 11’:I’m Late focuses on an important but under-discussed topic. Known for her work on the female body, filmmaker Sawako Kabuki zooms in on the experience of being “late” with your period. Her trademark colourful style is again married here with her keen eye for vulnerability.