Director Joung Yumi's 'House of Existence' selected for Berlinale Shorts

By Kwak Yeon-soo

The poster for the film, “House of Existence” / Courtesy of KOFIC

Director Joung Yumi's “House of Existence” was selected for the Berlinale Shorts competition of this year's Berlin International Film Festival, the Korean Film Council said Friday.

The 72nd edition of the film festival is scheduled for Feb. 10-20. There have been 20 other short films selected for the competition, including: “A Story for 2 Trumpets” by Amandine Meyer and “Retreat” by Anabela Angelovska.

Joung's films have been invited to the Berlinale three times so far. Two of her earlier works, “Math Test” (2010) and “Love Games” (2013), competed in the Shorts Competition.

Her eight-minute animation tells the story of what happens when our belief systems collapse. Using a “house” as a metaphor to represent one's inner mind, the artist shares how the process of shattering one's rigid ego is painful, but can lead to the discovery of something new and meaningful amid the ruins.

Joung gained international acclaim after directing the short animated film, “Dust Kid (2009),” which was screened at the Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as at over 50 other international film festivals, receiving more than 10 international awards.

This year's Berlinale will be held in-person, but under strict public health restrictions and in a scaled-down format due to the pandemic.