Film Awards
BLACK MOVIE International Independent Film Festival, GENEVA (2009,Switzerland)
Mill Valley Film Festival (2008,USA)
The 14th Lyon Asian Film Festival (2008,France)
The 15th TITANIC Budapest Filmfest (2008,Hungary)
The 13th Los Angeles Film Festival (2008,USA)
The 18th Focus on Asia – Fukuoka Int’l Film Festival (2008,Japan)
The 37th International Film Festival Rotterdam (2008,the Netherlands)
The 12th Busan International Film Festival (2007,Korea)
Synopsis
Jin-wook is a North Korean defector, who has just graduated from a center for adjusting to South Korea and is now ready to enter the “real society.” On his first day of moving to a humble apartment, Jin-wook goes out to buy a blanket and then is shocked by the display of capitalism in a megastore nearby. That night, Jin-wook gets lost and coincidently gets on a taxi, which another North Korean defector Hae-jung drives. Hae-jung and Jin-wook who both are new to Seoul try to find his apartment, but can' t find it. When morning breaks, Hae-jung leaves and Jin-wook finally finds home.
A few days later, Jin-wook travels to Busan to meet his other North Korean defector friends, but encounters an illegal foreign worker, Ting-woon from Vietnam on the way. Even though they don' t understand each other’s languages, Jin-wook accompanies Ting-woon to Booan in Chollabookdo, where Ting-woon’s girlfriend from Vietnam is to marry a Korean man.
Director's Note
The film depicts how two North Korean defectors and a foreign worker meet for the first time in their life, starts to feel sympathy for each other and then struggles to adjust in a capital society, which is obviously unsuitable to them. Their struggle implicates ours in the past, at the same time, in the present.
Even when each character from the film is not able to communicate each other in terms of language, they share the very fundamental emotions like joy and sadness, which provokes them to have sympathy and understanding to each other. It is due to the fact that we are all human beings, ultimately feeling the same emotions.
Director's Bio / Filmography
- KIM Dong-hyun
1997 [From Island] 16mm, color, 33min.
2004 [A Starving Day] 35mm, color, 20min.
6th Persons with Disabilities Film Festival (2005, Korea)
Grand Prize, 3rd Seoul Christianity Film Festival (2005, Korea)
Grand Prize, 30th Seoul Independent Film Festival (2004, Korea)
2006 [A Shark] 35mm, color, 109min.
3rd Cinema Digital Seoul Film Festival (2009, Korea)
6th Festival of Korean Cinema In Italy (2008, Italy)
11th Pusan Int’l Film Festival (2006, Korea)
2007 [Hello, Stranger] 35mm, color, 112' 53"
22nd Black Movie Film Festival (2009, Switzerland)
2nd Public Award for Best Film, 14th Lyon Asian Film Festival (2008, France)
31st Mill Valley Film Festival (2008, USA)
18th Focus on Asia – Fukuoka International Film Festival (2008, Japan)
13th Los Angeles Film Festival (2008, USA)
15th TITANIC Budapest Filmfest (2008, Hungary)
Time and Tide, 37th Int’l Film Festival Rotterdam (2008, The Netherlands)
NETPAC Award, 12th Pusan Int’l Film Festival (2007, Korea)
2013 [The Dinner] color, 125min.
Closing Film, 18th Busan Int’l Film Festival (2013, Korea)
Staff
Director/Screenwriter/Producer : KIM Dong-hyun
Co-producer : PARK Jin-soo
Production : KIMDONGHYUN FILM
Cinematographer : OH Jeong-ok
Gaffer : LEE Joo-saeng
Editor :LEE Do-hyun
Art Director : PARK Hyo-sun
Music : LEE Joon-ho
Sound : LEE Sung-chul
Mixing : YU Seung-wan
Costume : SONG Sin-ae
Makeup : KANG Soo-hyun
Cast
PARK In-soo as Jin-wook
CHOI Hee-jin as Hea-jung
QUANG Su as Ting-woon
BANG Young as Detective CHOI
