‘K-Cinema Touring’ to Present a Retrospective of Director Yim Soon-rye in San Francisco

November 12–14: Screenings and conversations with the director at SFMOMA and BAMPFA

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, UNITED STATES, October 19, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ —

The Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles (Director Haedon Lee) will present K-Cinema Touring in San Francisco from November 12 to 14, bringing Korean cinema to audiences in Northern California.

Launched in 2015, K-Cinema Touring is a program organized by the Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles to introduce a diverse range of Korean films to American audiences. Over the years, the program has featured leading Korean filmmakers, including Lee Chang-dong, Bong Joon-ho, Park Chan-wook, and Hwang Dong-hyuk. Traditionally held in Los Angeles, the program will expand beyond the city for the first time this year, reaching audiences in San Francisco.

The program is presented in collaboration with two leading cultural institutions in the San Francisco Bay Area: the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA), an art museum and film archive affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley. This year’s featured director, Yim Soon-rye, will present screenings of her films Little Forest (2018) and Waikiki Brothers (2001), followed by conversations with audiences.
Yim Soon-rye is one of South Korea’s leading female filmmakers. Since making her directorial debut with The Three Friends in 1996, she has explored Korean society and the lives of ordinary people with sensitivity and insight through films including Waikiki Brothers (2001), Forever the Moment (2008), The Whistleblower (2014), Little Forest (2018), and The Point Men (2023). Her work has earned recognition for its thoughtful portrayal of human relationships and social realities.

The program will open with a screening of Little Forest at SFMOMA on November 12 at 6:30 p.m. BAMPFA will host screenings of Waikiki Brothers on November 13 at 4 p.m. and Little Forest on November 14 at 6:30 p.m. Following each screening, Director Yim will meet with audiences to discuss her films and share insights into her work.

In addition to the film screenings, the program will offer an opportunity to experience Korean food culture. A Korean cooking workshop inspired by Little Forest will be held at SFMOMA on November 14 at 11 a.m., with participation limited to the first 30 registrants.

“It’s meaningful that K-Cinema Touring is reaching audiences beyond Los Angeles for the first time this year,” said Lee Haedon, Director of the Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles. “It is particularly significant to introduce Korean cinema alongside Director Yim Soon-rye, one of Korea’s leading filmmakers, at some of San Francisco’s most prominent cultural institutions.”

Tickets for K-Cinema Touring screenings can be reserved through the official websites of the participating institutions, SFMOMA and BAMPFA.

Director Bio
Born in Incheon in 1961, Yim Soon-rye studied English Literature at Hanyang University before completing graduate studies in Theater and Film and pursuing a master’s degree in Film Studies at the University of Paris 8 in France. After working on the production team of Out to the World (1993), she began attracting attention with her short film Promenade in the Rain (1994), which won the Best Film Award and the Young Critics Award at the 1st Seoul Short Film Festival. In 1996, her feature directorial debut, The Three Friends, received the NETPAC Award at the 1st Busan International Film Festival.

Her subsequent works include Waikiki Brothers (2001) and The ‘Weight’ of Her, a segment of the omnibus film in 2003. In 2007, she directed Forever the Moment, inspired by the South Korean women’s handball team’s remarkable performance at the 2004 Athens Olympics. She also directed Fly, Penguin (2009), further demonstrating her distinctive perspective on people and society. /End/

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