A Korean film depicting the tragic lives of women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II will get rotational screening in major Japanese cities starting this week, the film's director said Tuesday.
"Spirits' Homecoming" will go on a screening tour of 13 Japanese cities beginning with Tokyo on Thursday, according to director Cho Jung-lae.
Cho said he changed the way of distributing the film to free community screenings after it failed to find a theater in the country.
A still photo from the movie "Spirits' Homecoming" (Yonhap)
The drama follows women who were forced to work in Japanese military brothels during the war. Historians estimate that up to
200,000 women, mostly from Korea, were abused. Korea was under Japanese colonial rule from 1910-45.
In Tokyo, some 200 to 300 people will gather at a small theater mostly used for indie band performances to watch the film, according to him.
The director plans to leave for Japan on Wednesday to fix the timing and venue of the film's screening in 12 other cities. The screenings will be organized by human rights activists and ethnic Korean residents in Japan who support the film.
"I came to hold the events because I wanted to bring the film to Japan and there are many in the country who want to see it," Cho said.
The movie took its inspiration from a drawing titled "Burning Women," created by Kang Il-chul.
Despite budget shortages and other initial difficulties, the film was completed 14 years after production began with the support and donations of more than 75,000 people.
In Korea, it drew more than 3.5 million viewers, an unexpected success for a small-budget film, early this year. (Yonhap)
