AEW Media Arts: Immersive VR

Media Arts Exhibition:
Gina Kim's powerful VR trilogy on US military violence in South Korea and Crystal Chan's interactive audio experience at Goethe-Institut Montréal.

For the 12th Korean Film Festival Canada, Arts East-West (AEW) presents an immersive exhibition featuring acclaimed Korean filmmaker Gina Kim (@gina_kim_films), who reshape how we understand trauma, identity, and the body in motion through VR and soundscape experiences.

Gina Kim’s Retrospective: Comfortless Trilogy — Bloodless (2017), Tearless (2021), and Comfortless (2023) — invites audiences into the hidden history of women in US military camp towns in Korea. Through powerful VR storytelling, she gives voice to lives erased by imperialism and violence. Internationally awarded and showcased around the world, these films are raw, haunting, and urgent.

DATE: June 11–14

LOCATION: Goethe-Institut Montréal (1626 Boul. Saint-Laurent, Suite 100, Montreal)

Ticket Price: $15+taxes - RSVP appreciated | Tickets also at the door.

Join us in this immersive space where East meets West, where stories are embodied through sound, sight, and motion.

Gina Kim
Retrospective: Comfortless Trilogy
‍This VR storytelling exhibition is part of Gina Kim's "Comfortless Trilogy", which includes a three-part VR film—“Bloodless” (2017, 12 min), “Tearless” (2021, 12 min), and “Comfortless” (2023, 16 min). The trilogy explores the history of US military camp towns in South Korea, aligning with Arts East-West's mission to bridge East and West by showcasing marginalized voices. It embraces technology to foster cultural and artistic discourse, both nationally and globally.

Bloodless (2017), which depicts the final day of a sex worker murdered by a U.S. soldier in South Korea in 1992, won Best VR Story at the 74th Venice International Film Festival, Best VR Film at the 58th Thessaloniki International Film Festival, and Best VR Short Film at the 15th Bogotá Short Film Festival.

‍Tearless (2020) explores the haunting remains of the Monkey House—a medical prison established in the 1970s to isolate and treat U.S. military comfort women who were suspected of having STDs. Premiering at the Venice Film Festival, it received the Best Immersive Work Award at the Geneva International Film Festival.Comfortless (2023), also premiered at Venice and was later exhibited at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea. Shot on location, the film immerses viewers in “American Town,” a brothel complex built exclusively for the U.S. Air Force Base in South Korea.

Comfortless (2023), also premiered at Venice and was later exhibited at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea. Shot on location, the film immerses viewers in “American Town,” a brothel complex built exclusively for the U.S. Air Force Base in South Korea.
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All three pieces have garnered international acclaim, leading to retrospectives at prominent venues around the world, including the Korean Film Archive, Seoul International Women’s Film Festival, and CinemAsia Film Festival in Amsterdam, among others.

Credits:
Retrospective Comfortless Trilogy - VR Immersive Cinema by Gina Kim June 11-14, 2025 at Goethe-Institut Montreal
Augmented Reality (AR) Spatial Installation: Mi-Jeong Lee (Arts East-West) and her team (Daphné Yu, Julianna Yip, Sarah-Maude, Kathy Teleyón, Sarah-Maude Lemieux and Samantha Chan)

Technical Support (Ada X): Stéphanie Lagueux, Deb Vanslet, Tyra Mario Trono
On-site Technicians (Ada X): Tee Kundue, Marie-Anne Raroche
Technical Support (Goethe-Institut Montreal): Tatiana Bruan, Peter Xirogiannis

Project Coordination and Marketing:
KIM Miiru, KIM Yeji, Da Ye Kim from Cyan Films
Annabelle Kang, Mathilde Elie, Alex Seokbin Yoon, Brandon Sun from the 12th KFFC