Davy Chou was inspired to make his latest film during a trip to South Korea to present his first feature-length documentary, Golden Slumbers, at a film festival in 2011. Accompanied by a friend who was born in the country but adopted to France as a one-year-old, he was moved by the experience of having lunch with her biological father and grandmother. “In their exchanges, there was a whole mix of emotions, sadness, bitterness, incomprehension, and regrets,” he says. “There was even a tragic-comical dimension because you could tell that they were incapable of understanding each other.”
More than a decade later, Chou’s Return to Seoul tells a similar story, following Freddie, 25 (played by newcomer Park Ji-Min), as she returns to South Korea on an impulse to reconnect with her origins, since being adopted and raised in France. As she starts searching for her biological parents, though, she finds her life moving in new and unexpected directions.
In 2022, Return to Seoul premiered at Cannes Film Festival, and was later shortlisted for best international feature at the Academy Awards. Now, an exclusive screening is coming to London as part of Dazed x MUBI Cinema Club’s latest season, which kicked off last month with a special preview of Léa Mysius’s The Five Devils.
The upcoming screening is the latest in Dazed’s partnership with the acclaimed film distributor and movie streaming service, and will take place May 4 at the Rio Cinema. Sound good? Tickets are now on sale here, and are available at half price for all Dazed Club members (learn more about how to sign up here). Tickets will also include free drinks and popcorn.
Watch the trailer for Return to Seoul, and see what else Dazed x MUBI Cinema Club’s current season has to offer, below.