As autumn paints our eyes with shades of yellow and leaves wrap us in a cozy blanket, this September, Asian Movie Night is teaming up with KloosterKino to bring you the special shorts program Monologue of Dreams. This program explores the complex and universal themes portrayed by the lens of Asian storytellers. Through this journey, we will delve into symbolic and surreal elements, address the omnipresence of power dynamics, and engage in the discussion about the sense of belongings and self-healing, in collective and captivating ways.

Monologue of Dreams, co-curated by Minhong YU and Maarten van Gageldonk, features 8 diverse works from South Korea, China, Japan, Iran and Armenia, such as Sensor Ship (2021, KR), The Song of Flying Leaves (2023, IR/AM), Bird in the Peninsula (2022, JP/FR), A Dog Under a Bridge (2022, CN), It’s a Gray, Gray World (2022, IN), Persona (2022, KR), Mui (2021, CN) and I’m Late (2021, JP/FR). All films are screened in their original language with English subtitles.

1. Sensor Ship (Jina Yoon | 2021 | KR | 2 min)
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.

2. The Song of Flying Leaves (Armine Anda | AM & IR 2023 | 13 min)
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. Armenian actress, writer, producer and director Armine Anda has crafted a beautiful meditative short with a teacher to remember.

3. Bird in the Peninsula (Atsushi Wada | 2022 | FR & JP | 16 min)
Seemingly a sly commentary on manhood standards and gender roles, Japanese director Atsushi Wada’s latest short dips into a sort of ritual mysticism. Children dance to music under the supervision of their teacher. A young girl attends the scene and comes to disturb their ritual. Bird in the Peninsula received a Special Mention at the 2022 Berlinale.

4. A Dog Under a Bridge (Rehoo Tang | 2022 | CN | 13 min)
“I’m a dog who lives in the park under a bridge. Awoooooooo!” A Dog Under a Bridge started with filmmaker Rehoo Tang walking under a bridge in China. Here 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.

5. It’s A Gray, Gray World (Seyed Mohsen Pourmohseni Shakib | 2022 | IN | 6 min)
In a completely gray world, the colourful identity of a conservative young man is accidentally revealed by a playful boy. People are terrified of this, calling the police to arrest the young man. But the young man managed to escape, returning the next day to defend his right to freedom. An Iranian short with a vital message to the world, and the Iranian regime.

6. Persona (Sujin Moon | 2022 | KR | 7 min)

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. Just how big is the gap between ‘me’ and ‘my persona’? Persona was the first Korean animated short to compete for the Palme d’Or for Best Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival.

7. Mui (Weng Chon Wong | 2021 | MO | 8 min)
During a short bus trip, a young man and his elderly grandmother are confronted with horrible memories. Amidst grandma’s usual nonstop nagging, it feels as if suffering will persist simultaneously in the past in the present. Coming from Macao director Weng Chon Wong, the film is a wonderfully weird mix of styles and emotions.

8. I’m Late (Sawako Kabuki | 2021 | FR & JP | 11 min)
I’m Late focuses on an important but underdiscussed 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.

ASIAN MOVIE NIGHT

This programme is part of Asian Movie Night: a community cultural project in which selected Asian films are being screened to a public on a regular basis with curated themes and after-movie sessions to open up discussions. The project aims to introduce a more diverse view of Asian culture in a comfortable environment and accessible format to a broader audience. It tries to create a physical as well as online community with various cultural backgrounds who are interested in learning about different cultures, hence promoting cross-cultural communication and understanding.