Yellow Door: 90s Lo-fi Film Club on Netflix- Everything we know so far

The world of contemporary cinema has seen few names shine as brightly as Bong Joon-ho's, and to commemorate the same, Netflix is here with its upcoming documentary, Yellow Door: 90s Lo-fi Film Club.

Fans of Korean cinema will be coming across the opportunity to have a sneak peek into the 'golden era of Korean cinephilia'. Netflix brings a documentary that is here to explore the cinematic renaissance of Korean films, starting with Bong Joon-ho and expanding to members of the film club he was part of post-college.

The trailer for Yellow Door: 90s Lo-fi Film Club showcases the journey that took the Parasite director from just another student appreciating films to a world-famous name.

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Netflix's Yellow Door: 90s Lo-fi Film Club explores the South Korean cinema club of the 90s

Netflix's upcoming documentary dives deep into the 90s South Korean film club that birthed changemakers in Korean cinema, one of whom is Bong Joon-ho, among others. Helmed by a fellow member of the club, Lee Hyuk-rae, Yellow Door: 90s Lo-fi Film Club dates back to 1990, when colleges and schools encountered an abundance of film clubs that gave students the opportunity to enter the creative space and mold it.

As Bong Joon-ho says in the trailer,

“We were the first cinephile generation. The student movement was over, and we didn’t know what to do next. That’s how we came to Yellow Door.”

Meanwhile, Netflix describes the documentary synopsis in more detail until its release, saying,

"The 1990s witnessed an explosion of film clubs on Korean campuses, providing young students with a creative outlet and a platform to study the art of cinema. Yellow Door Film Club was one of them. Back in 1993, a fresh-faced Bong was an integral part of this gathering of film aficionados, and he meticulously managed the club’s video library of cinematic masterpieces from around the world."

The trailer was released on Tuesday, September 26, 2023, and features the acclaimed director and Academy Award winner Bong Joon-ho, who takes viewers on a journey using archival footage and pictures from his Yellow Door film club.

The director of Parasite and Okja recounts the memories of the first film that he made, a stop-motion 22-minute animated film named Looking for Paradise, which was viewed by a total of ten people from the same film club. He says,

“It was the first time I created something with a narrative.”

The short was screened on Christmas Day of the year 1992, and the movie in itself spoke volumes about Bong's approach to filmmaking, as mentioned by members of the film club. One member says in the trailer,

“The essence of director Bong’s films was already established in that film.”

While another person adds,

“I knew he’d make it… but not this big.”

Netflix, along with Lee Hyuk-rae, has brought together other members of the club, which include Ahn Nae-sang, Woo Hyeon, Jong-tae Choi, and Ji-Hoon Lim, as per IMDb records.

Yellow Door: 90s Lo-fi Film Club is set to release on the streaming platform on October 27, 2023. The film will additionally be screened for a world premiere at the 28th Busan International Film Festival, which will run from October 4 to October 13, 2023.

Bong Joon-ho's Parasite became the first non-English film ever to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards in 2020.