Korean film 'Alien' competes at Cannes for short film award
Director Yeon Je-gwang, right / Korea Times file
By Lee Han-na
Director Yeon Je-gwang, 29, is competing in the Cannes International Film Festival's short film contest Cinefoundation with his film “Alien.”
“Alien” is one of the 17 films to make the shortlist out of some 2,000 international films that were submitted and Yeon was invited to the festival as a result.
Yeon said he was super-excited because he has been pursuing a filmmaking career his whole life.
“I was eating when I got the phone call from festival staff saying that my film was nominated for the Cinefoundation Award. I was really excited to hear the news,” he said.
“Alien” revolves around the tragic death of undocumented Chinese-Korean manufacturing worker Reong-hee who dies after falling from the rooftop of a building while running away from an immigration officer.
Feeling pressure, together the owner and manager of the company try to cover her death up. Her friend Hong-mae, also an undocumented Chinese worker, organizes a funeral for her friend.
In an interview with Yonhap News Agency in Cannes, France, director Yeon said he was inspired by the tragic death of an unnamed illegal worker from a Southeast Asian country that occurred several years ago.
“He was chased by an immigration officer and died after falling from the rooftop of a building. I read the story in a newspaper. His death was wrongly deemed as suicide,” said the director.
He said Koreans are divided when it comes to illegal immigrants. “There is kind of dichotomy regarding undocumented foreigners. Some Koreans see them as bad people, while some view them as poor people who need help. I don't agree with either of them,” he said.
He said he happened to read the newspaper story while he was thinking of the divisive Korean opinion regarding undocumented guest workers.
In “Alien,” the director said he tries to be neutral without siding with any of them. He chose to be vague, without revealing his position clearly, to allow the audience to make their own judgment.
In the film, Hong-mae happens to meet Southeast Asian guest workers while holding a funeral for her dead friend. “She is an illegal worker, a marginalized person handling the funeral of her friend who was also marginalized. I tried to express her complex feelings indirectly by focusing on the trees behind her and the river in front of her,” said the director.
Yeon said he is curious how his film will be viewed by international audiences. “I just hope that they can get my point and my film can give them a chance to think about illegal immigrants. It's a common theme and their countries must deal with similar issues,” he said.
Lee Han-na is a Korea Times intern.