Free film festival coming to Preston

Close up of a group of friends enjoying a movie in the cinema

A free cultural film festival starts in Preston this week.

The University of Central Lancashire’s Asia Pacific Film Festival will screen eight movies between Wednesday 27 March and Friday 26 April.

Some of the feature films will be shown in the UK for the first time and each picture will be accompanied by talks and Q and A sessions led by students, staff and film directors.

The festival launches on Wednesday 27 March at 6pm, as part of the Women’s History Month, with The Ones Left Behind. This documentary on single mothers in Japan will be followed by a Q and A session with its director.

Broken Dreams, an omnibus including nine short films that portray the impact of the 2021 military coup and ongoing crisis in Myanmar, will be shown at 6pm on Tuesday 16 April while at 6pm on Wednesday 17 April, Maineland tells the coming-of-age tale about Chinese teenagers at a private boarding school in the USA.

Return to Seoul, a story of a young woman born in South Korea and raised in France but who returns to Seoul to reconnect with her biological parents takes place at 5.30pm on Thursday 18 April. At 6pm on Friday 19 April, Café Lumière commemorates the long-lasting bonds between Taiwan and Japan.

Parasite director Bong Joon-Ho’s first commercial success film, Memories of Murder, starts at 5.30pm on Tuesday 23 April. A must-watch for detective movie lovers based on a real-life series of murders, which draws the portrait of a politically and socially dark South Korea in the 1980s.

On Wednesday 24 April, at 6pm, Pinoy Sunday tells the story of migration, self-realisation, friendship and home, while Happy Together, at 6pm on Friday 26 April, explores love and LGBTQ+ issues on the cusp of the 1997 handover of Hong Kong.

Dr Adina Zemanek, organiser of the Asia Pacific Film Festival, said: “We are excited to present this diverse and captivating selection of films, hoping they will open reflection and dialogue on issues of key significance for our contemporary world.

“The power and magic of cinema is beyond doubt most fascinating. By offering these selected films, we believe that we can bridge a pathway for audiences who are unfamiliar with the Asia Pacific to know more about it. We are also excited to share the knowledge, skills and perspectives of our BA (Hons) Asia Pacific students. As part of their undergraduate studies, we are proud to showcase their unique voices and understanding of the Asia Pacific region in our times.”

All films will be shown in the University’s Mitchell and Kenyon Cinema. The festival has been organised in partnership with the UCLan Worldwise Learning Centre and the UCLan Confucius Institute.

To reserve your free seat, visit the University’s events’ webpage.

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