Bikini Words Reaches Vancouver

BIKINI WORDS has been selected for the Vancouver Lift-Off Film Festival in 2016. After receiving Best Short Documentary at the Liverpool Lift-Off Film FestivAL earlier this year, the film continues its journey on Lift-Off Film Festival Global circuit. Seeing the project travel this far has been both grounding and encouraging.

A Film About Language and Industrial Change

BIKINI WORDS looks at South Korea’s rapid industrialization in the 1970s and 1980s through language. The film focuses on a vocabulary created by factory workers during that period. These words helped describe new realities shaped by factory labor, urban life, and social change. By centering the film on language, I wanted to approach history through something personal and everyday.

Recognition from the Lift-Off Network

James Bradley, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Lift-Off Film Festival network, spoke about the importance of platforms that support independent filmmakers. His words underline why this selection matters. Lift-Off actively looks for films that might otherwise struggle to be seen, and that approach aligns closely with how Bikini Words was made and why it exists.

Continuing on the Festival Circuit

Following Vancouver, Bikini Words is scheduled to screen at further Lift-Off festivals, including Los Angeles in September, Amsterdam in October, Singapore later in October, Sydney in November, and London in December. Each screening adds another layer to the conversation around the film, shaped by different audiences and contexts.

A Seoul-Based Perspective

I made Bikini Words while living and working in Seoul. The city’s constant transformation, and the traces of earlier industrial spaces that still remain, strongly influenced the film. By selecting eight words from a much larger archive, the film moves through spaces that are slowly disappearing, while reflecting on the lives once shaped by them.

Screening Details in Vancouver

Bikini Words will screen on August 1, 2016, from 17:00 to 18:30 at Vancity Theatre, 1181 Seymour Street, Vancouver. Tickets are available through the Lift-Off ticket platform.

Why This Matters

Bikini Words was made as a small, independent project with a clear focus on history, language, and space. Its continued presence at international festivals is a reminder that quiet, specific stories can still find an audience. I’m grateful for the chance to share the film in Vancouver and beyond, and for the ongoing support of independent cinema.