KIM Bora’s debut film House of Hummingbird has been invited to screen at next year’s Berlin International Film Festival. The film will have its European premiere in the Generation 14plus section, following its world premiere in October in the New Currents competition section of the Busan International Film Festival.

The film follows the daily life of 14-year-old Eun-hee in 1994, a year that included several major events in Korea. She lives with her old brother and sister and their bickering parents and attends a calligraphy class where she grows fond of her new teacher. Meanwhile she struggles with her first romantic experiences.

A graduate of New York’s Columbia University, KIM became an established filmmaker through her short films, which include The Girl with Red Shoe (2003), Her Earing (2004) and The Recorder Exam (2011), films that screened at film festivals around the world. 

As a project, House of Hummingbird received the Pitch & Catch Megabox Grand Award from Seoul International Women′s Film Festival as well as production support from the Korean Film Council, the Seoul Film Commission and the Seongnam Cultural Foundation. Following production, KIM’s work was selected by the Sundance Institute for the IFP Narrative Lab, where it received post-production support.

KIM’s work is the first Korean film to be invited to next year’s 69th Berlin International Film Festival, which is set to take place from February 7 to 17.