25-year-old French-Korean woman Frédérique Benoît (Freddie) has lived in France all her life, having been adopted at an early age. Now she finds herself in Seoul, the first time in her native land, immersed in a culture and language she doesn’t know. She befriends Tena and Dongwan, and on their advice seeks help from the international adoption centre, precipitating a chaotic eight-year, life-changing journey of self-discovery, and reconciliation with her birth parents.

French-Cambodian writer-director Davy Chou’s haunting and nuanced Return to Seoul is loosely based on a friend’s personal story, and his direction echoes Hou Hsiao-Hsien in its raw energy and focus on impulses and deep emotions. Park Ji-Min (a visual artist without any previous acting experience) is magnetic as Freddie – her intuitive, dazzling presence delivers a raw and emotional portrait of a restless, impulsive young woman.

There will be Open Captioned screenings at 18.15 on Monday 8th and 15.30 on Thursday 11th.

Notes by Marie-Pierre Richard