Yim Soon-rye in Person

November 13–14, 2026

BAMPFA is honored to welcome Yim Soon-rye to present two of her most heartfelt, resonant works, Waikiki Brothers and Little Forest.

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Yim Soon-rye: Little Forest, 2018
Yim Soon-rye: Little Forest, 2018
Yim Soon-rye: Waikiki Brothers, 2001

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Upcoming Films

Waikiki Brothers
Yim Soon-rye
South Korea, 2001
Friday, November 13, 4 PM
Yim Soon-rye in Person
A mediocre nightclub cover band strums its way across the forgotten hinterlands of South Korea in Yim Soon-rye’s now-cult classic—simultaneously deadpan and admiring, sorrowful and life-affirming—with lead roles for future superstars Hwang Jung-min and Ryoo Seung-bum.
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Little Forest
Yim Soon-rye
South Korea, 2018
Saturday, November 14, 6:30 PM
Yim Soon-rye and Jinsoo An in Conversation
A young professional abandons a Seoul life of coffee shops and office drudgery to return to a rural mountain farm and learn to “make her own time” in this “small film with a very big heart” (Taipei Times). Based on a Japanese manga.
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Past Films

Yim Soon-rye in Person

November 13–14, 2026

Considered one of South Korea’s leading female auteurs, Yim Soon-rye has been actively making films since her debut, the 1994 short Promenade in the Rain. Her second feature, Waikiki Brothers (2001), a now-cult film about the lives and dashed dreams of a nightclub cover band in the Korean hinterlands, announced her as a talent to watch. This opened up new opportunities in a jaw-droppingly wide range of commercial filmmaking, ranging from the sports epic Forever the Moment (2008) (about the Korean women’s Olympic handball team), to the political thriller The Whistleblower (2014), the calming foodie film Little Forest (2018), and even the big-budget action film The Point Men (2023). According to several sources, she has now made more films than any other woman in Korean cinema history.

BAMPFA is honored to welcome Yim to present two of her most heartfelt, resonant works,...

BAMPFA is honored to welcome Yim to present two of her most heartfelt, resonant works, Waikiki Brothers and Little Forest. “It’s been 20 years since Waikiki Brothers but people still tell me that they find comfort when they saw the movie today,” Yim recalled in a recent Tatler Asia interview. “When I also made Little Forest, some viewers told me that it allowed him to rethink and reposition their life, made them a more positive person and even felt healed after watching. I think this is the most rewarding part of my job.”

—Jason Sanders, Film Notes Writer

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Yim Soon-rye in Person is co-presented with the Korean Cultural Center, Los Angeles.

Thanks to Haedon Lee, Seonji Jang, Korean Cultural Center, Los Angeles; Kathleen Macguire, SFMOMA; Steven Lee, Kelsey R. Wong, Center for Korean Studies; and Penny Edwards, Institute of East Asian Studies.