Sentimental Education: Theresa Hak Kyung Cha at the Pacific Film Archive

Sentimental Education: Theresa Hak Kyung Cha at the Pacific Film Archive

April 2–19, 2026

Pairing works from Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s studies in film with the artist’s own experiments in film and video, Sentimental Education: Theresa Hak Kyung Cha at the Pacific Film Archive maps the global cinematic influences on a remarkably singular artist.

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  • Theresa Hak Kyung Cha: Translations from a Willow Tree, 1976

  • Carl Theodor Dreyer: The Passion of Joan of Arc, 1928

  • Theresa Hak Kyung Cha: Permutations, 1975

  • Chantal Akerman: News from Home, 1977

  • Yasujiro Ozu: Floating Weeds, 1959

  • Upcoming
    Films
  • Upcoming
    Events
  • Selected
    Objects
  • Past
    Films
  • Past
    Events

Past Films

  • The Passion of Joan of Arc

    Carl Theodor Dreyer
    France, 1928

    35mm Archival Print

    Thursday, April 2 7 PM
    Introduced by Tausif Noor; Judith Rosenberg on Piano

    Tracing the trial and execution of Joan of Arc, The Passion of Joan of Arc emphasizes the raw emotion of its actors through Carl Theodor Dreyer’s signature austere cinematography, stark sets, and extreme close-up photography of its lead actors.

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  • The Films of Apparatus and Early Works by Theresa Hak Kyung Cha

    Friday, April 10 5 PM
    Introduced by Tausif Noor

    Films by Maya Deren and Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet—contributors to Apparatus: Selected Writings (1980), an anthology of film theory edited by Theresa Hak Kyung Cha—precede a selection of Cha’s Super 8 and video work from the early 1970s.

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  • Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s Late Works: Mouth to Mouth, Permutations, and White Dust from Mongolia

    Sunday, April 12 1:30 PM
    Introduced by Victoria Sung

    The influence of Structuralist film theory is palpable throughout Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s films, particularly in her 1976 film Permutations, which is here paired with White Dust from Mongolia, the artist’s unfinished foray into narrative cinema.

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  • Floating Weeds

    Yasujiro Ozu
    Japan, 1959
    Thursday, April 16 7 PM
    Introduced by Tausif Noor

    Yasujiro Ozu’s color remake of his 1934 film follows a theater troupe that visits a remote island to meet the lead actor’s illegitimate son. The narrative unfolds as the actor balances his paternal responsibilities with his relationship with the lead actress.

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  • Distant Relative: News from Home and Measures of Distance

    Sunday, April 19 4 PM
    Introduced by Tausif Noor

    Structured by epistolary relationships between mothers and daughters, Chantal Akerman’s News from Home and Mona Hatoum’s Measures of Distance resonate with the themes of distance and exile rife throughout the oeuvre of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha.

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