With colorful and dynamic images shining through the school campus, the second Ewha Green Movie Festa (EGMF) – Ewha Film Festival (EFF) & Ewha Media Art Presentation – was held from May 30 to June 1. EGMF is an outdoor film-art festival where people can enjoy films and artworks in open air cinemas. Along with the nature-friendly environment of the school and the striking architecture of ECC, the films blended in with the surroundings, giving the viewers heartwarming experiences. This year, over 390 students participated as staff and docents, organizing the whole festival.
EFF “eco echo” brings up environmental issues
EFF, which began in 2018, is internationally known for its full outdoor screen system. The title of 2019 EFF was “eco echo,” which was inspired by this year’s theme, the environment. Under this theme, EFF presented films about nature and women along with short films that alert the audience on environmental issues.
Cooperating with Seoul Eco Film Festival, a special section was prepared for international documentaries on natural environment. In this section, “What the Health,” “Albatross,” and “A Plastic Surgery: Coca-Cola’s Hidden Secrets” were screened. Each film dealt with tragic environmental issues such as contamination in the medical and food industries, massive decline in the albatross population due to plastic pollution, and the false promises on recycling of the Coca-Cola Company.
Environmental issues surrounding women were also covered in EFF by holding the Moon So-ri Special Presentation section. In the Guest Visit (GV) section, Moon So-ri, a renowned Korean actress and director, was invited to talk about her filmography and what it is like to be a woman in the film industry. The section presented four movies that delved into life as a woman, with the main focus on the film “The Running Actress.”
Other sections such as Silk Road of Ewha movie club (NOUE )presented its early films, and the Sense Screen section included films that stimulate the five senses such as “Little Forest: Summer & Autumn.”
The 2019 EFF also planned an experimental approach to the screen system by adapting a dual screen. The content was presented in a symmetrical way, including films such as “Viva,” “The Florida Project,” and “In the Mood for Traveling Qipao.”
“Be, colored” with EMAP
EMAP is an international video art festival shown at the school garden, which started in 2001. The theme of this year’s EMAP “be, colored,” focused on four keywords: movement, sounds/music, fantasy and stories of the world. As it was the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations of Korea and Poland, EMAP selected works from the exhibit “Other Dances” from the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) in Warsaw, Poland.
A summer night with outdoor film-art festival
Among the works, “Magnificat” presented over 20 members of the Chorus of Women hitting different notes such as shouts, whispers, and hisses. The chorus all being feminists, their performance declared that they do not accept fixed social roles imposed on women.
Also, video arts like animation films and video performances created by Ewha students were exhibited under the title “Color your color I.” For “Color your color II,” winners of EMAP 2019 International Competition showcased their works, and the grand prize winner, Jaze Chan, was given the chance to attend the festival along with his work, “I’m Happy to have an exam today,” displayed.
Activities offering artistic experience
The second Ewha IN Star collaborated with EGMF to celebrate the 133rd anniversary of the school. This large audition program was held on May 29 at ECC Samsung Hall. Recipients of the awards were given an opportunity to perform at outdoor stages during the three days of the festival.
“It was an honor to perform on such a huge stage with our club members,” said Lee Yu-jin from vocal group Sorimoa that won second place at Ewha IN Star. “This audition was a great opportunity for our team as we could perform on a bigger stage than usual. It was also a meaningful experience in that we got to enjoy artistic films on campus with big screens.”
Many other activities were prepared to offer artistic experiences. In the booth “Book Corner,” books and magazines on vegetarianism and feminism were provided to help the audience have a deeper understanding of EGMF. The workshop program, “Squirrel Community Center” presented artworks of artist Hong Hak-soon during the EMAP period. Each student was given customized squirrel ID cards along with a painting of a squirrel on a wood.
“It was really rewarding to see people get into the festival as we worked so hard on it,” said Heo Ye-jin, one of the EMAP staff. “The cinematography of the art presentations was great. It was satisfying to understand the underlying message of the works. It felt like I was getting a glimpse of the artist’s unique perspective on the world. As EGMF is an annual event, I hope more students participate next year so that we can keep making it better.”