The Daughter (2021) 

The Beloit International Film Festival, which takes place in Wisconsin in the United States, will feature a pair of narrative Korean shorts in its program this year. Nam Soona’s The Daughter and Kim Joohee’s Summerlight have been invited to screen at the festival’s upcoming 17th edition.

The Daughter follows a young woman called Hyoeun, who takes care of her ailing mother and then inherits her home following her passing. She wants to remove all remaining traces of her mother from the house, but in the process of doing so, she begins to hear whispers that sound like her mother in addition to experiencing other strange phenomena. Director Nam previously made the short films Good-for-Nothing (2015), Full Moon (2020) and Happyhappy Divorceparty (2021).

In Summerlight, Saha is a young girl who likes her homeroom teacher but keeps her feelings to herself from a distance. Soon a new classmate Saebom arrives, who is more mature than Saha and seems to harbor feelings for their teacher. Noticing their mutual interest, the pair begin to size each other up, and Saha is soon confronting with unusual new feelings. Director Kim’s earlier shorts include ON Air (2017) and When the Love Ends (2018)

Lee Jiseung’s AZOOMA (2013) picked up the Grand Prize in Beloit in 2013. This year’s 17th edition of the festival will take place from February 25 to March 6.