| Project |
Flowers of Mold
| No. |
8 |
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Director
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SHIM Hyejung |
| Country |
Korea |
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| Producer |
KIM Suntae |
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| Production Company |
Sinae FILM |
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| Writer |
SHIM Hyejung, LEE Soojin |
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| Genre |
Drama |
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| Running time |
90′ |
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| Project Status | Script Development |
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Director’s Profile
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Shim Hyejung actively worked as an artist and released experimental films and documentaries. Her first short film, Kimchi (2012), screened at Seoul Independent Film Festival 2015 and Jeonbuk Independent Film Festival 2015, and her next short film, Heels Over Head (2015), screened at the Jeonju International Film Festival 2015 and Women′s Film Festival in Gwangju 2015. Camellias in Bloom (2017) screened at Jeonju International Film Festival 2017 and Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival 2017, and was also nominated for the short film competition at the Blue Dragon Film Awards 2017.
Shim Hyejung’s first feature film, A Bedsore (2019), was invited to Jeonju International Film Festival 2019, Seoul International Women’s Film Festival 2019, London Korean Film Festival 2019, Seoul Independent Film Festival 2019, Jeonbuk Independent Film Festival 2019, and Moscow International Film Festival 2020, and won the Ex-aequo Jury prize, and INALCO Jury Award at Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema 2020. A Bedsore (2019) was released in South Korean cinemas in July, 2020. |
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Producer’s Profile
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From 2005 to 2009, at Sidus FNH, producer Kim Suntae participated in the following films: The Big Swindle (Choi Dong-hoon, 2004), Antarctic Journal (Yim Pil-sung, 2005), South of the Border (Ahn Pan-seok, 2006), The Accidental Gangster and the Mistaken Courtesan (Yeo kyun-dong, 2008), and The Sword with No Name (Kim Yong-gyun, 2009).
From 2011 to 2016, as a production manager for the Jeonju film commission, he supported various film location scouts and shoots in Jeollabuk-do and he was also in charge of ‘Jeonju Cine Incentive’ and ‘Jeonbuk Incentive’ programs.
From 2016 to 2017, he was the line PD of A Duck′s Grin (Kim Youngnam, 2018), which was supported by the Korean Film Council art film grant program. From 2017 to 2018, he was the production director of Door Lock (Lee Kwon, 2018). From 2018 to 2019, he was the producer of A Bedsore (Shim Hyejung, 2019).
Sinae Film, founded by Shim Hyejung, produced the feature film A Bedsore (Shim Hyejung, 2019). |
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Synopsis |
Jisu (37 years old) believes that in trash lies the truth of existence. Every night she goes through other people’s garbage and collects information. Things started with the visit of the president of the women′s association of the apartment community. Inside the food waste bag that she shook out were letters not yet sent. The returned trash and the tearful love letters inside leave Jisu deeply humiliated.
One day, some immaculately neat and tidy trash catches her eye, belonging to her neighbor, Woojae (34 years old). He seems different from the others, and she becomes curious about him. Jisu starts collecting his trash, and successfully approaches him using the information she has gleaned. Meanwhile, Woojae’s ex-lover, Sera (26 years old), visits him. Jisu is upset and acts aloof, but not knowing the reason for her coldness, Woojae rather misses her. One night, while pacing around the apartment, her secret is revealed. In a scuffle, boom… a bin bag bursts, Woojae’s trash is scattered, and Jisu’s face turns pale. Woojae leaves confused, while Jisu’s house remains dark thereafter. A few days later, on the way home from work, he runs to Jisu’s house thinking that she’s back, but discovers that the house is under new ownership. After Jisu’s sudden disappearance, in an attempt to find her he begins scouring social media. Unfamiliar photos of her appear.
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Director’s Statement |
On anything, a flower can bloom, which is a process of survival; flowers enticing one another to meet, to make contact. At the moment when a living being fades away, a moldy flower blooms and life continues.
From short novel, Flowers of Mold by Ha Seong-nan, the protagonist feels humiliated, as if her secret desires lie undiscovered in the trash. Trash is a byproduct of human existence, but it is also a tool to prove existence. Just like a trail left at a crime scene, trash is left as people go about their lives.
The question is, can trash indeed represent a person’s essence? From going through the trash, can Jisu find her happy ending with the right man?
The film, Flowers of Mold, is about what it is to be thrown away, and what it means to love in an era where trash is overflowing.
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