The Shadowless Pagoda

The King and I

June 1956 •English

Widowed Welsh mother Anna Loenowens becomes a governess and English tutor to the wives and many children of the stubborn King Mongkut of Siam. Anna and the King have a clash of personalities as she works to teach the royal family about the English language, customs and etiquette, and rushes to prepare a party for a group of European diplomats who must change their opinions about the King.

Prince in Yam Clothes

September 1956 •Korean

Prince Kim Chu, last prince of the Silla Kingdom, falls in love with an enemy princess. Because this is not allowed, he must renounce his heredity and retire to Mt. Chiaksan.

The Bell Tower

August 1958 •Korean

An elderly bell maker reminisces about his life filled with tragedy.

The Terminal

June 2004 •English

An Eastern European tourist unexpectedly finds himself stranded in JFK airport, and must take up temporary residence there.

The Steel Helmet

January 1951 •English

A ragtag group of American stragglers battles against superior Communist troops in an abandoned Buddhist temple during the Korean War.

Battlefield Heroes

January 2011 •Korean

This story unfolds 8 years after 'Battle of Hwangsanbeol', which destroyed Baekjae, when Silla-Tang Dynasty union attacks Goguryeo.

Fancy Dance

December 1989 •Japanese

Yohei, a punk rocker, becomes a Buddhist monk in order to inherit a mountain temple. Though initially rebelling against the tough monastic discipline, he learns to adjust. Then his girlfriend shows up, enticing him to return to his rock 'n' roll roots.

Conflagration

September 1958 •Japanese

Learning of his family's collapse, acolyte Goichi, sent to study silently at the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, must endure acute psychological distress.

Once Upon a Time in a Battlefield

October 2003 •Korean

Set in the 7th century AD during the Korean peninsula's division into three perpetually warring kingdoms, Once Upon A Time In A Battlefield focuses on the Shilla's king Kim Choon-chu efforts to conquer his rivals: Koguryo and Baekche. To achieve this goal, he allies with mainland China's Tang empire, the superpower of the era, and together the two polities plan to attack first the weakest Baekche at its main fortress of Hwangsanbul, guarding the only easy access to the mountainous interior. But the fortress commander General Kye Baek (Park Joong-hoon) will be resisting to the end...This comedy relays on clash between ancient time and modern language combined with irony and distance to the war.

The Way of Hwarang

September 1962 •Korean

His parents captured by the Baekje armies, prince Eo-jin infiltrates the enemy castle alone to seek revenge. His plot is ruined when he falls in love with a princess there and is forced to choose between betraying his parents and nation or the woman he loves.

Deep in the Valley

October 2009 •Japanese

Deep in the Valley interlaces a story of young romance set in Yanaka (part of old downtown Tokyo) with a Japanese period drama based on Five-Story Pagoda, a classic literary work by Rohan Koda. In the contemporary story, Kaori, a young woman working for a non-profit organization that restores home movies, learns that there used to be a five-story pagoda in the middle of Yanaka Cemetery. It burned down in 1957, and rumor has it that someone has an 8mm film of the fire.

An Artisan's Legacy: Tsunekazu Nishioka

February 2012 •Japanese

In-depth look at the twilight years, spent training apprentices, of temple builder Nishioka Tsunekazu, who was called the "devil" as he devoted his life to temple architecture. His insistence on the gargantuan timescale of linking life to the next millennium emerges from people who knew him. Remarkable as well for showing the unknown backstage of temple architecture. Nishioka, known as "the last temple carpenter," handled the major Showa-era repairs of Horyuji temple, and in 1990 was at the scene of the reconstruction work for Yakushi temple.

Come Come Come Upward

April 1989 •Korean

In 1980s South Korea, two young nuns-in-training at the same monastery embark on very different journeys towards enlightenment.

Sauver Notre-Dame

April 2020 •French

Miracles of Luang Pu Suk

November 2013 •English

About the merits of Luang Pu Suk, a Buddhist monk who lived from 1847-1923.

Sharp Elements

May 2024 •Russian

The girl, who works as a fashion designer and tailor for a living, received a new and complicated order. She is stressed over working with a new material. Things get complicated when she starts feeling like someone is stalking her.

Notre-Dame Résurrection

December 2024 •French

Legend of the Evil Lake

November 2003 •Korean

A thousand years ago, an evil spirit was kept imprisoned in a lake by the first emperor of the Chilla empire. Now unleashed, it possesses the body of Ja Woon-bi, the wife of general Biharang, with the aim to bring down the very dynasty that destroyed his people. Biharang is torn; to kill the spirit, he has to also kill his wife.

Bamboo Theatre

September 2019 •

This film is a portrait of unique cultural space for Spirits, Gods and People. While permanent theatres are commonly built in most cosmopolitan modern cities, Hong Kong preserves a unique theatrical architecture, a Chinese tradition that has lasted more than a century - Bamboo Theatre.

Irène

June 2002 •French

Irène is a beautiful girl working in Paris, she soon meets a manager and hopes a love story with him. But he tells a lie, so she falls in love with a house painter.