Canadian Premiere
The age-old tribulations of adapting to a new place are explored with freshness and sympathy in this first feature from Kwak Eun-mi, about a defector from North Korea struggling to make a better life for herself in Seoul. Han-young (Sul Lee) has parlayed her ability to speak Chinese into a job as a tour guide, with a cynical remit to persuade her customers to spend lavishly on her company’s goods. And, like anyone, she needs the money, to aid her family, and just to get by. But she’s seen as an outsider by South Koreans and treated with suspicion, and in her own experience, there’s little she can rely on. The original Korean title translates as “Someone you can trust”, and trust is in short supply here, save for the compassionate, careful eye which Kwak brings to bear on the proceedings. This is a gentle, low-key movie with a wonderful performance from Sul Lee as the shy, determined Han-young at its centre.
Best Actor, Jeonju 2023
October 2 & 4: Q&A with director Eun-mi Kwak
Lee Sul, Oh Gyeung-hwa, Park Se-hyun
South Korea
2023
Panorama
In Korean with English subtitles
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Credits
Producer
Keun-shik Joh
Screenwriter
Eun-mi Kwak
Cinematography
Young-ki Choi
Editor
Hyun-sook Choi
Production Design
Hye-young Son
Original Music
Soo-yeon Lee
Director
Eun-mi Kwak
After graduating from Kookmin University’s Department of Business Administration, Kwak, Eun-Mi majored in film at the Korean Academy of Film Arts. Beneath The Wheel (2015), her graduation piece, won the Women’s Human Rights Film Festival’s Pium Audience Award. After graduation, she won the Sonjae Award at the Busan International Film Festival and the Blue Dragon Film Award for Short Film with A Hand-Written Poster (2017).
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