Film
Helpless (Hoa-Cha)
D: Byun Young-joo
Korea 2012, 117 min, English subtitles
Jang Mun-ho’s fiancée suddenly disappears without a trace. He doesn’t believe their approaching wedding day has caused her to flee in panic. When he learns that his betrothed has been living under a false identity, he embarks on a journey into her mysterious past and stumbles to the edge of an unimagined abyss. Byun Young-joo’s unnerving thriller is based on the novel All She Was Worth by Miyabe Miyuki.
PaekSang Arts Award 2012: Best Director.
on 4.5. 8pm: Talk with the director and the film scholar Cho Young-jung
In Korean with German translation
Byun Young-joo (*1966) studied law and film. She is a co-founder of the feminist film collective Bariteo and addresses women’s and human rights in her films. In 2012, Women in Film Korea named her the female filmmaker of the year. Helpless marks her directorial return after an eight-year hiatus.
Cho Young-Jung (*1967) holds a Ph.D. in film studies. She works as a programmer for the Busan International Film Festival with a focus on Asian cinema and classic film retrospectives. Since 2007, she has headed the Asian Film Academy, an educational program for young filmmakers.
