ID :
84152
Sun, 10/11/2009 - 20:44
Auther :

Film critic produces feature of her own

By Shin Hae-in
BUSAN, Oct. 11 (Yonhap) -- The search for a missing sister begins with a
misunderstanding, a theme that runs throughout the movie "Viewfinder (Gyeong)."
An elder sister acting as mother to her younger sibling isn't aware of the fact
that her sister hasn't gone missing at all, but has in fact left home in order to
escape her overbearing and overprotective ministrations. Despite the many
frustrating or embarrassing situations, the film's characters remain calm and
expressionless, silently mirroring events like "viewfinders" passively projecting
images.
Abandoning her role as Kim So-young, famed South Korean movie critic, the
renowned film expert has ventured into her first drama under the alias Kim Jeong.

"Viewfinder" is one of 10 Korean films invited to the Pusan International Film
Festival's Vision section this year, designed to demonstrate the breadth and
future direction of independently-produced feature films.
Kim's film was among the works "most looked forward to" by film experts at the
Pusan film fest, along with "Cafe Noir," another feature debut by
critic-turned-director Jung Sung-il. Both movies will explicitly demonstrate how
interpreting a film affects the creative process behind it, they said.
Different "viewfinders" appear throughout the films sequences, such as when the
elder sister Jeong-gyeong (Yang Eun-yong) encounters people at a highway
restaurant while searching for her sibling (Lee Ho-young). Just as in modern
society, where people are "projected" by something or someone while seeking
connection, each individual in the scene looks blankly into their own screens --
a mobile phone, a computer or a camera.
"I wanted to reflect that aspect of contemporary life, in which people are so
strongly influenced by the media that they never let a second pass by without a
'frame' to link them and project them to the rest of society," director Kim said
ahead of the movie's screening.
Wandering aimlessly along the highway, the film's main characters appear lonesome
and haunted by the memory of family and their deceased mother, which serves as
the link between the two sisters.
"I don't have a sister so I was keen to know more about what that was like," Kim
said. "Along with motherhood, sisterhood is an interesting tool to express
femininity."
"These sisters have their own ways of accepting their mother's absence and
grieving over her death," she added. "I wanted a link to connect them through the
journey."
Currently a professor at Korea National University of Arts, Kim studied
filmmaking at the Korean Academy of Film Arts and also directed "Koryu: Southern
Women/South Korea (2000)," a documentary trilogy highlighting the historical role
of women in South Korea, as well as "I'll be seeing Her (2002)" and "New Woman:
Her First Song (2004)."
Her works have received international attention and were invited to several
domestic and international film festivals including the Seoul Women's Film
Festival, Yamagata International Film Festival, Pesaro Film Festival, Melbourne
Film Festival and Hong Kong International Film Festival.
Kim also directed several short films including "A Runner's High (2004)."
hayney@yna.co.kr
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