Caroline So Jung Lee’s ‘At the Bottom of the Sea’ Streaming Free for National Canadian Film Day
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The award-winning short “delivers a powerful and poetic meeting of analogue experimentation, personal travelogue, and feminist rallying cry.”
An award-winning film by filmmaker Caroline So Jung Lee (BFA 2020) is streaming free online through May 4 as part of The Cinematheque’s 2021 National Canadian Film Day celebration.
At the Bottom of the Sea, which was a Hot Docs selection and winner of Best Canadian Short at VIFF in 2019, “delivers a powerful and poetic meeting of analogue experimentation, personal travelogue, and feminist rallying cry,” writes The Cinematheque.
“Filmed in South Korea in 2018 amid a historic women’s movement against systemic misogyny, Lee’s expressionistic short employs bromide drag, light leaks, double exposure, and ocean imagery to elevate — and interiorize — its footage of faces, places, and women in protest. The soundtrack braids an evocative score by Robin Lough with voices of female interviewees and demonstrators.”
The Cinematheque is streaming the 11-minute film alongside Ellie Epp’s 1976 short, Trapline, to form one of two free, virtual programs in recognition of National Canadian Film Day. The second free program features Heater, the 1999 debut feature from Canadian writer-director Terrance Odette.
From Caroline So Jung Lee's film 'At the Bottom of the Sea,' 2019.
Founded in 1972, The Cinematheque is “a film institute and media education centre devoted to understanding the art and history of Canadian and international cinema and the impact of moving images and screen-based media in our lives,” according to its website. It maintains a year-round calendar of curated film exhibitions devoted to important classic and contemporary films and filmmakers; an array of community outreach programs offering interactive learning opportunities in film appreciation, filmmaking, media literacy, and critical thinking; a Film Reference Library housing thousands of film-related books and periodicals; and a West Coast Film Archive holding some 2,000 Canadian motion pictures, including a core collection of historically and artistically significant British Columbian works.
Launched in 2014 by REEL Canada, National Canadian Film Day is an annual celebration of Canadian cinema. Find out more at canadianfilmday.ca and reelcanada.ca.
Stream At the Bottom of the Sea now through May 4 at thecinematheque.ca!