Contents

About I Purple U

Purple's Journey

Films

Speakers

Gift For You!

Designers

Contact

Neither a cold blue or a hot red, COLOUR PURPLE has been a symbol of sophisticated, ambiguous and fluid values throughout the Western cultural history.


Once regarded mysterious and discordant, the hue became a muse among the fashionable, to then be used as a marker to oppress difference;

Until those armed with difference - suffragettes, the queer community, psychedelic artists, rock musicians - claimed the colour right back by wearing it with pride in alternate culture and beautiful acts of rebellion.


Fast-forward to 2020s, purple is now one of the most marketable colours in pop culture, perhaps signalling to the new generation's embrace of fluidity and diversity.


I Purple U features 4 stories of rebels who refuse to be subjugated by the society’s definition of them - whose power of resistance, love, and sense of identity, are expressed through the use of colour purple.



- Heeyeon Park, the season curator

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Purple's

journey

Ways of seeing purple is as varied as its chameleonic charms. Indeed, the colour has had varying symbolisms throughout the history :

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discord and mystery

In ancient times, purple was considered an incomplete shade of black, a symbol of bad fortune, instability, and death.


As one of the rarest naturally-occurring colours it always held spiritual connotation, and was used by the religious and mystics.

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royalty

For centuries, the process of obtaining purple dye from nature made the colour so scarce and expensive that wearing it was a symbol of status and wealth.


Emperors of the Persian, Byzantine, and Roman times, as well as Queen Elizabeth I, restricted the colour for imperial use. A purple robe was put on Jesus before his crucifiction as a mockery of his reputation as King of Jews.



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Female & queer icon

Purple featured in works of many queer icons including 7th Century poet Sappho and Oscar Wilde as an expression of love and desire.


The colour was also a symbol of early suffragettes.


Early 19th century saw the colour become incredibly fashionable, only to then be considered 'effeminate' and linked to the persecution of homosexuality, such as the 1930s 'Lavender Scare' in the US.

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Empowerment

In 1960s the color came to symbolize resistance. Lavender sashes and armbands were worn in a gay rights march in response to the Stonewall riots.


A group of radical activists wore "Lavender Menace" t-shirts and stormed the 1970 Second Congress to Unite Women to fight for lesbian rights.


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Alt & Pop Culture

Given the colour's frequent associations with difference and rebellion, it's not surprisingly purple provided inspiration for artists and served as a muse for many musicians.


It was the perfect colour that blended between the standardised 'primary colours' introduced by mainstream society.


Purple was a colour that featured prominently in artworks during the 1960s Psychedelic era, noticeably in songs like Jimi Hendrix’s Purple Haze and films such as Yellow Submarine.


Lewis Carroll’s novel Alice in Wonderland became a massive source inspiration, and Disney’s 1951 animated version of the wonderland made abundant use of the colour purple to create a surreal look.



Throughout the 70s and 80s pioneering rock stars like Deep Purple and Prince adopted the colour as their symbol.


Purple is the blend of the softness of blue and the loudness of red - perhaps it’s this ambiguity artistic pioneers ravelled in.


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future & romance

In the 21st century, purple's most common use is found in sci-fi genre, an evolution of the colour’s long-standing impression as an ‘unnatural’ and hypnotic colour. Purple is also one of the most used colour in games design and music videos.


The colour's popularity on electronic gadgets and overall fantasy genres seem to suggest it now represents a futuristic romanticism.

The fondness of the colour may embodies the younger generation’s fluidity regarding many issues like gender, sexuality, race, nationality, etc.


보라해

The meaning behind 'Borahae; I purple you’

V, a member of Korean boyband BTS, first coined the term 'I purple you' in the group's 2016 concert. Since then, every city they perform in lights their most iconic landmarks purple.


Few artists are represented by a colour this way, which naturally got me thinking about The Purple One, and other musicians who use purple like a muse in their work.


This usage of purple as a symbol of love and solidarity, combined with the explosive popularity of the colour in the last few years, interested me. So I've choen this phrase as the title of my film season.



FILMS

Yuni

95 mins

Directed by Kamila Andini

Starring Arawinda Kirana, Kevin Ardilova, Asmara Abigail

Indonesia (2021)


In her last year of secondary school, a bright student is determined to pursue her education and resist arranged marriage, despite the expectations from her community.


Kamila Andini and co-writer Prima Rusdi draw a compassionate portrait of teenage angst with a sensitive social commentary on the reality faced by Indonesian girls who are thrust upon life-shaping events at an all-too-early age driven by religious conservatism.


This screening will be accompanied by an intoduction by colour specialist Momtaz Begum-Hossain.


TUESDAY 10 JAN 2023

6:00pm

Rafiki

83 mins

Directed by Wanuri Kahiu

Starring Sheila Munyiva, Samantha Mugatsia

Kenya (2018)


“Good Kenyan girls become good Kenyan wives” - this is what Kena and Ziki have been told all their lives. ‘But you’re not a typical Kenyan girl,’ they whisper to each other, eyes and hands locked.


Romantic sparks fly between the daughters of two opposing politicians who befriend each other in this tender Juliet & Juliet story of forbidden love on the streeets of Nairobi.


This screening will be accompanied by an introduction by creative producer Carmen Thompson.


TUESDAY 17 JAN 2023

6:15pm

Purple Rain

111 mins

Directed by Albert Magnoli

Starring Prince, Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day

USA (1984)


A victim of his own anger, the Kid (Prince) is a Minneapolis musician on the rise with his band, the Revolution, escaping a tumultuous home life through music.


Nicknamed “The Purple One,” Prince has been associated with the color purple since the release of his 1984 album and film Purple Rain. He spent his career celebrating gender fluidity and defying categorisation - like a true Rock 'N Roll royalty.



TUESDAY 24 JAN 2023

6:00pm


The Handmaiden

145 mins

Directed by Park Chan-Wook

Starring Kim Min-hee, Ha Jung-woo, Kim Tea-ri

South Korea (2016)



With breathtaking visuals, grandiose set–design and frenzied humour, The Handmaiden is an opulent labyrinthine tale of deception, secret romance and triple–crossing that marked a career high for one of modern cinema’s most thrilling auteurs, Park Chan-wook.



TUESDAY 31 JAN 2023

8:20pm


Speakers

Momtaz Begum-Hossain

Momtaz Begum-Hossain is a Colour Therapy Expert, Modern Colour Theorist, Author of the book Hello Rainbow: Finding Happiness in Colour and Host of the podcast Hello Colour.


She’s the Founder of the‘Hello Hue’ philosophy; a seven-point guide for how to use colour to boost your mood and mental wellbeing.


Find Momtaz on @momtazbh



Momtaz will be provding the intoduction for the

screening of YUNI on 10th January.

Carmen Thompson

Carmen is a programmer, curator and creative producer based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Her interests centre around cinema from the African continent and the Black diaspora, specifically at their intersections with non-fiction storytelling.


She currently works as cultural curator for We Are Parable, programming consultant for RSIFF and as a producer for Aya Films, where she worked of the UK release of Rafiki.


See Carmen's full bio:

www.carmenthompson.co.uk



Carmen will be provding the intoduction for the

screening of RAFIKI on 17th January.

Dr Kulraj Phullar

A lifelong Prince fan, Dr Kulraj Phullar is a London-based Film Studies academic specialising in Hollywood, British colonial and diasporic cinemas, and Indian cinemas.

He currently teaches at King's College London, MetFilm School and the National Film and Television School.


Find Kulraj on Twitter: @kuli_83



Kulraj will be provding the intoduction for the

screening of PURPLE RAIN on 24th January.

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gifts for you

These goods were custom made & flown over

from ateliers in Seoul, just for you!

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1. Special Tickets



Tag us or

leave a on the board and recieve a special ticket!


The 200 limited-edition holographic tickets are designed for you to write your own review and rating of the film, and each custom numbered.



@ipurpleu_film

feedback



Find us on

instagram & Twitter!

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2. Badges


Come dressed purple

and get the season badge!


Designed in collaboration with

Sosiminwork, the masters of film merchandising, the 100-only badges feature protagonists from the 4 films in the season.




Check out Sominwork on:


instagram.com/sosiminwork

sosimin.modoo.at


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3. Stickets


And this is to thank everyone for coming!


When you collect your ticket, the box office staff will give you a sticket.


Additionally...

Purple Lollies


Inspired by the scenes in The Handmaiden when Hideko sucks on purple lollies, I'm bringing some artisan mega lollipops.


Grape flavoured; gluten-free and vegetarian.


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The Handmaiden photo essay


I'll be displaying a copy of the limited-edition Hideko version of The Handmaiden photo essay 'The Moments'. Do feel free to come and take a look.

Designers

Owen Pyle

Graphic Designer


Owen designed the season logo, poster, ticket, and sticker; without his vision the season would have looked entirely different.


"During the ‘I Purple U’ collaboration, my aim was to create an alluring series of images that provide the audience with a glimpse of what to expect from the season. Themes of rebellion, love, identity and acceptance were explored throughout the creative process which I portrays using a monochromatic purple colour palette and symbolic, partially abstracted imagery."


More of Owen’s work can be found via his socials and website.

Instagram: @ocpartt

Website: https://owenpyle6.wixsite.com



Sosiminwork

Badge design


Sosiminwork (소시민워크) is an atelier based in Seoul.

Renowned for their work on film merchandise, the team

collaborates with interdisciplinary artists to create pieces that

are coveted collector's items the cinephile circle.


Check out Sosimin projects on:

Instagram: @sosiminwork

https://sosimin.modoo.at



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Contact

Blue Plant Leaf

Heeyeon Park,

the curator


Thank you for visiting! If you watched a film in the season,

I really hope you've enjoyed it. If you, like me, just love

colour purple & pop & cinema, do check out the I Purple U Instagram page.


I'm a London-based film and arts curator & an actor, with a passion for cultural interpretation.


Curating this season has been the fruition of my practice at MA Film Curation at NFTS. If you have any questions or just want to connect, get in touch!


Get in Touch