Suzaku
Japan, 1997
Director: Naomi Kawase

Twenty seven year old female filmmaker, Naomi Kawase well-known for questioning family fundamentals in her past short documentaries brings you Suzaku.

The story centres on a Tahara family living at the south end of Nara where Kawase comes from. As the townspeople slowly move in search of a better life, Kozo Tahara, a father of a family who loves his village stays on, helping with building railway tracks to his town. However his hope is suddenly broken broken when the construction is vainly left. Tracing their lives from the 1970s recession to present, the film is filled with sexual tension and the small town's idealistic wonder.

Three Friends (Sechinku)
Korea, 1996
Director: Soonrye Yim

The story opens with three close friends on high school graduation day in a provincial Korean town. Failing their entrance exam leads Independant, Fatso and Petal to an uncertain future. Without a degree, our three protagonists must look for another way.

Their compulsory military service call-up is lurking near. They face different destinies in their army and reunite only much later. Each in their own way have been betrayed by the system. They are not so much losers as anti-heroes. Portraying Korea's Generation X, director Yim Soon-Rye's debut is a daring mix of light-hearted comedy and realist drama.