APM - Asian Project Market

 

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Director’s Profile

Kim Hee-jung graduated from the Lodz Film School in Poland. She was selected for La Residence du Festival, Festival de Cannes to complete the script for The Wonder Years (2007). She then returned to Korea where the film debuted. Her next film, Grape Candy (2011), which ruminates on the scars of memory, received the Pitch & Catch Award at the Seoul International Women’s Film Festival 2011. This was followed by Snow Paths (2015), a recipient of the Jeonju International Film Festival 2015’s Jeonju Cinema Project (JCP), which explores the journey of an alcoholic as he attempts sobriety with the help of a nun, with whom he shares a deep psychological connection. In 2016, Kim won the APM’s KOCCA Award for the script of A French Woman (2019). The film explores the main character’s delusions through time until she is forced to face the reality of her situation. The film opened nationwide in Korea in 2020, and in 2021 was awarded the Best Cinematography and Best Actress at the Wildflower Film Awards Korea.

Synopsis

The main characters include: Myeongji (Dokyeong’s widow); Jieun (sister of Jiyong who drown); and Haesu (Jiyong’s friend).
After her husband’s death, Myeongji, in need of a respite, travels to Warsaw, Poland to her cousin’s house there, which is empty. Jieun, already in a weakened state, is in the hospital, now paralyzed due to trauma over her brother’s death. Haesu is trying to comfort Jieun; he has brought her stationery so that Jieun can send a letter to Myeongji.
Meanwhile, Myeongji is at her cousin’s house in Warsaw, using Siri to search for what happens to humans after death. There’s a pause, and Siri asks, “Where would you like directions to?... Where would you like to go?”
It is a strange response to Myeongji’s question.
Myeongji meets her friend Hyeonseok in Warsaw, who has no idea her husband, Dokyeong, is dead. She pretends that he is still alive - making excuses that he’s sleeping, they broke up, etc.
Myeongji develops a skin rash, a physical reminder that she can’t avoid Dokyeong’s death. With this realization, she returns home. Myeongji receives Jieun’s letter, that Haesu put in the mailbox for her. Jieun’s letter helps Myeongji confront her pain and sorrow.

Achievements

2023 Jeonju International Film Festival - Closing Film
2023 Korean Film Festival in Hungary
Released in Korea

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