15 Short Films you shouldn’t miss at the 6th Ulju Mountain Film Festival

By Asian Film Festival on March 31, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

These are fifteen short films you shouldn’t miss at the 6th Ulju Mountain Film Festival, which will take place onsite and online from April 2nd – 11th, 2021.

About the festival:
The Ulju Mountain Film Festival is the first and the only international mountain film festival in South Korea, dedicated to present and promote films & culture dealing with the mountains, adventure and exploration, nature and environment. The festival also provides an opportunity for filmmakers and mountaineers to meet and exchange ideas through the seminars, events, screenings and social gatherings.

This year the festival will take place on site and online from April 2nd until April 11th. You can read about the ticket information and festival passes here: Ticket Information

IMPORTANT:
Due to the current pandemic we urge filmgoers to follow the festival recommendations. All screening seats are spaced out due to COVID-19. To prevent COVID-19 infection, you MUSTT wear a mask in all places at all times, and you can enter after a heat check and checking the electronic entry list. Food or beverages are not allowed in any theaters. Please be safe and always take care. – AFF

Selected Short Films

**A Barefoot Buddha** by Xue Feng, Zheng Ziyuan – China | 2020 – 9 minutes
**Section**: International Competition, NETPAC | World Premiere

A young man, eager to transcend the worldly troubles in his daily life, embarks on a Buddhist quest. What he finds is animation draws inspiration from two-thousand-year-old murals in the Buddhist caves in Dunhuang. The narration is delivered in the form of traditional opera by well-known Chinese shadow-play musicians and singers.

Screening Dates:
April 4th, 2021 | Sunday | Alps Cinema 2 | 15:30 pm

Trailer:

**A Student** by Lee Mi-ji – Korea | 2020 – 15 minutes
**Section**: Focus, Korean Wave

60-year-old Kyung-hee having troubles a lot not use to using computer. She wants to take a computer class at the community centre but they say registering is available via Internet only.

**An Aunt** by Kim Hyun-jung – Korea | 2020 – 26 minutes
**Section**: Focus, Korean Wave

Min-Kyung, who is five months pregnant, is attending her uncle’s first memorial service with her mother.

Trailer:

**Aniksha** by Vincent Toi – Canada | 2020 – 20 minutes
**Section**: Focus, Canada | International Premiere

Aniksha, a young Mauritian woman, finds her first job at a call centre in the wake of her arranged marriage. As she discovers a new world of possibilities, she has to decide whether to stay in a familiar way of life or break with traditions.

Trailer:

**Before the Summer Passes** by Kim So-hyoung – Korea, Japan | 2020 – 26 minutes
**Section**: Focus, Korean Wave

Jeong-yeon just turned in her 60. She headed to Japan to see her daughter who has married and lives there. When she arrived, there was no presence of her but only a young girl Uekusa was waiting her saying she’s her granddaughter.

Trailer:

**Girl in the Hallway** by Valerie Barnhart – Canada | 2019 – 11 minutes
**Section**: Focus, Canada | Korean Premiere

Why does Little Red Riding Hood give Jamie nightmares? It’s been 15 years, and the girl in the hallway haunts him still. This is a testament to locked doors. A lullaby sung by wolves with duct tape and polaroids. Not all girls make it out of the forest. Some stories children shouldn’t hear.

Screening Dates:
April 2nd, 2021 | Friday | UMFF On Air (Available until April 11th)

Trailer:

**Gon, the Little Fox** by Yashiro Takeshi – Japan | 2019 – 28 minutes
**Section**: International Competition, NETPAC

When Gon, a playful orphaned fox, finds that young Hyoju has lost his mother, he tries to comfort him and make amends for his own earlier mischiefs by secretly bringing small gifts to the boy every day. But Hyoju doesn’t realize who is behind the anonymous gifts, and the two are headed for a heartbreaking climax.

**Highway to Heaven** by Sandra Ignagni – Canada | 2019 – 17 minutes
**Section**: Focus, Canada | Asian Premiere

A short symphonic documentary offering a glimpse into the unique religious co-existence found along No.5 Road in Richmond, British Columbia.

**Interpreting Hyun-ju** by Kang Ji-hyo – Korea | 2020 – 24 minutes
**Section**: Focus, Korean Wave

Seon-yeong, who is an elementary school teacher, cares about Hyeon-ju who is always alone. Seon-yeong begins to pull her aside, talk with her, and listen to her honest words. But as time goes by, things happen differently from her words.

**Mountain Cat** by Lkhagvadulam Purev-ochir – Mongolia | 2020 – 13 minutes
**Section**: International Competition, NETPAC

A troubled teenage girl is coerced into seeing a local shaman in search of spiritual healing. Trapped by ancient beliefs that serve only to pacify her mother, she finds peace in the physical realm by unleashing her repressed, youthful spirit on the unsuspecting shaman when she realises his true identity.

Trailer:

**Nostalgia** by Gu Gi-hyun, Lee Min-ho, Seo Min-seok – Korea | 2021 – 19 minutes
**Section**: UMFF Project | World Premiere

A quiet village is now gone covered by the woods of machine and the clear sky is full of gray fog. The displaced people keep their hometown only in their memories. Someday, their memories as well as those who remember will disappear. There’s the voice of longing coming from the distance.

**Song of Clouds** by Ankit Poudel – Nepal | 2019 – 15 minutes
**Section**: International Competition, NETPAC

A simultaneous meditation on the afterlife, the journey to the other-world and what gets left behind among the living, the condition of exile in the modern world, and the pain and yearning of return. A haunting visual fever dream that explores the power of longing between the living and the dead, between home and distant lands.

Trailer:

**The Hidden Treasure** by Yang Hyun-hee – Korea | 2021 – 19 minutes
**Section**: UMFF Project | World Premiere

There are three treasures in Cheonjeon-ri where the energy of yin and yang meet passing the nine valleys of the deep mountain. When the bright sunshine lights the valley, the treasure gets its life again. Why all the doors in the village are unlcoked? A story dives into Cheonjeon-ri while repeat the meaning of life.

**The Shoes of a Little Girl** by Kedar Shrestha – Nepal | 2019 – 13 minutes
**Section**: Together | Korean Premiere

Junu, a 5-year-old girl who has trouble learning left from right is often asked by elders around her to wear her shoes correctly. After constantly trying she finally comes up with a new way to decode her confusion.

Screening Dates:
April 4th, 2021 | Sunday | Silent Cinema | 17:00 pm

Trailer:

**Why I Run** by Kim Seong-eun – Korea | 2020 – 36 minutes
**Section**: Panorama, Adventure & Exploration

A short documentary film series starring four trail running brand athletes from Patagonia Korea. Each film tells the story of the runners’ lives through trail running and answers the question “Why I Run”. They has undergone difficulty and hardship yet running has been a consistent presence in their lives.

For more information about the festival please go to: https://umff.kr/eng