The Korean Cinema Now festival, sponsored by the Nam Center for Korean Studies, returns for its annual occupancy in the Michigan Theater’s 200-seat Screening Room theater. This year’s screenings are two Saturdays per month at 1 pm from Jan. 20 through April 21.

South Korea is known for its robust film industry, and the eight feature-length movies being shown at the Michigan Theater represent many high points from the peninsula's 2016-2017 movie scene.

But the best part of Korean Cinema Now? It's free.

Check out the trailers, dates, and synopses below:

On the Beach at Night Alone
Saturday, Jan. 20, 1 pm
After a publicized affair with her director, an actress leaves South Korea and goes to Hamburg, where she gains insight into the meanings of love and identity.

Anarchist From Colony
Saturday, Jan. 27, 1 pm
A look at the life of the up-and-coming Korean patriot Park Yeol, who formed the anarchist organization “Black Wave” during the Japanese colonial period and attempted the assassination of the Japanese Crown Prince Hirohito.

The World of Us
Saturday, Feb. 3, 1 pm
At an age when perhaps friends mean more than moms, 10-year-old Sun is an outcast at school. During summer vacation, she meets Jia, who is new to town. As Sun shows Jia around the neighborhood and they play at each other’s houses and share secrets, they become best friends. However, when the new semester starts, Jia notices a strange vibe between Sun and the other kids.

Our President
Saturday, Feb. 10, 1 pm
In 2002, the Millennium Democratic Party elects the first presidential candidate by introducing a popular election system. While politicians like Ki Ra-seong have joined the election, Roh Moo-hyun the very last candidate with only 2% approval, throws in his hat. This is the story of a nation and the nation he led.

The Villainess
Saturday, March 10, 1 pm
Honed from childhood to be an elite assassin, Sook-hee embarks on a rampage of violence and revenge to finally earn her freedom and escape her past.

The Bacchus Lady
Saturday, March 31, 1 pm
The Bacchus Lady looks into the issue of elderly prostitution in South Korea. So-Young, an elderly lady who provides sex services to the male senior citizens using the pretext of selling Bacchus (an energy drink) to them. When So-Young picks up a Korean-Filipino boy named Min-Ho from the clinic she visits after Min-Ho’s mother stabs the doctor (Min-Ho’s father), she takes care of him while seeking a living through prostitution.

Jane
Saturday, April 7, 1 pm
So-hyun is a runaway who is left alone after her boyfriend Jung-ho disappears. By accident, she gets to know a transgender woman named Jane. She joins Jane and her group of misfit runaways, who are as comforting and loving as a real family.

The Battleship Island
Saturday, April 21, 1 pm
During the Japanese colonial era, roughly 400 Korean people, who were forced onto Battleship Island (“Hashima Island”) to mine for coal, attempt to a dramatic escape.

The "Korean Cinema Now" is at the Michigan Theater, 603. E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor. The festival runs Jan. 20 to April 21. Visit michtheater.org for tickets.