Every September, besea.n invites you to enjoy a month-long, collaborative programme of events, dedicated to East and South East Asian heritage, culture, history and solidarity. It’s a chance to celebrate, acknowledge and learn about the incredible ways in which our communities have helped shape the UK and respond to its changing tides, as well as reaffirm or create community bonds and movements.

Goals:

• Nationwide reach of events and communications to support new and existing communities for ESEA people

• Raise awareness about the activities and challenges of ESEA communities in the UK

• Raise funds for groups and organisations working with and for ESEA communities

• Establish meaningful connections across different groups and movements to promote solidarity and support that goes beyond a single month and beyond borders.

While ultimately, ESEA Heritage Month is a celebration of our communities — their cultures, histories and futures — it does not shy away from the messiness and the challenges of community organising. We recognise that community groups are often working within complex limitations and with limited access to funds, during times of climate breakdown and political turmoil.

We believe that community members have the power and responsibility to support each other in accountability, resource and knowledge sharing as we continue to develop new ways of growing and organising together.

Hong Kong Film Festival UK returns for its fourth edition from 25 September to 4 October in London, presenting reflective and shape-shifting cinema from Hong Kong, the wider Asian diaspora and beyond, marking the start of a more year-round festival.

This year’s programme foregrounds diaspora as agency — behind the camera, on screen and between communities. Across contemporary and historical cinema, artists’ moving image and interdisciplinary art practices, the festival moves through questions of migration, colonisation, activism and gender. Together, these works reshape ideas of memory and community.

Europe’s Largest Korean Music Festival Beyond Genre Boundaries

From folk traditions and experimental sound art to gaming soundtracks, jazz, hip-hop and indie rock, K-Music Festival returns to showcase the depth, diversity and creativity of Korea's thriving music scene.

The K-Music Festival opens with ADG7, joined by singer-songwriter Chang Kiha and hip-hop duo Lil Cherry & GOLDBUUDA in a dynamic collision of Korean folk traditions, shamanic energy and contemporary urban sounds; the festival continues with the immersive cross-cultural sonic theatre work Wind Alone, Sand Alone – Make No Sound and Korean Games in Concert reimagining iconic game soundtracks through the rich textures of the National Gugak Center’s orchestra.

Further highlights include Chudahye Chagis’ explosive fusion of ritual music, funk and R&B at Rich Mix, an intimate cross-cultural dialogue between Kyungso Park and Björn Meyer, Dongyang Gozupa’s high-energy return to London, and Baroque in Blue’s inventive jazz–Baroque fusion, collectively showcasing the festival’s vibrant spectrum from tradition to avant-garde experimentation.