A Long Farewell

Raya Kim / Republic of Korea (South Korea) / 2017 / International Premiere / 72 min.

synopsis

After years of negotiations, a complex of apartment buildings on the edge of Seoul is heading inexorably for destruction. With the demolition impending, the residents of the buildings slated for destruction try to express what this place means to them. Raya Kim’s minimalist documentary is not built on an apocalyptic mood or kitschy sentiment, but is rather precisely presented in the contrasts between image and sound. Static shots of homes and the surrounding landscape present a portrait of a quiet, seemingly undisturbed everyday life, while detached voices of observers recount their often-dramatic personal experiences, not hiding the uncertainty of what comes next.

„What do the actual residents think about the houses scheduled for reconstruction? As with all homes, there are many different forms of time and love.” R. Kim

biography

Raya Kim (1989) is a South Korean director, novelist, and audiovisual artist. In her works to date, a motif of sites undergoing both natural and forced changes has emerged. In her short film Boundary of Melancholy (2012), she captured the changing colors of a city as the sun sets; in the video project Home Visits, she presents a comprehensive view of the same city by examining its indoor and outdoor spaces.