"Lee Chang Dong Retrospective 4K" Directed by Lee Chang Dong I want you to feel what you can't see on the screen [Director's Interview Vol.344]

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2023.08.24Takatoshi Inagaki

Lee Chang-dong thinks of “a story that needs to be told”

Q: The director always says in interviews that he is looking for ``a story to tell.'' As a director, what kind of conditions are necessary for a ``story to be told'' to be born? Also, now that five years have passed since `` Burning ,'' do you see a new perspective on the story?

Lee: Both are difficult questions (lol). Because what you just asked me is something I always ask myself. What should I tell the audience through film? What kind of story would be meaningful to both me and the audience? However, the answer is not that easy. Even if I think, ``This story is interesting, or seems worth telling,'' I always stop and ask myself questions. "Is this a story that really has meaning for me and for the audience?"

Again, the answer is quite difficult to come up with. The more I create and the more films I make, the more difficult it becomes to come up with answers, and I think that's why it takes more and more time to make a film. However, even amid all this, there is a work that I am currently working on, thinking, ``Maybe this story has some meaning to tell.'' I can't reveal the details yet, but I've been asking myself these questions all the time.

*This article is a reconstruction of part of the author's solo interview conducted on August 8, 2023 and the talk event "Lee Chang-dong talks about his own work" held at Daikanyama Tsutaya Bookstore on the same day. is.

Director: Lee Chang-dong

In addition to teaching, he is active as a novelist and has published several books. At the age of 43, he made his directorial debut with ``Green Fish.'' The following movie, ``Peppermint Candy,'' emotionally depicts the life of one man by going back in time from the present to the past.It was screened not only in Korea but also overseas, and became famous all over the world. ``Oasis'' depicts the ultimate love between a man and a woman, and won the director's award at the Venice Film Festival, and the leading actress, Moon So-ri, won the best new actress. In 2002, he became the Minister of Korea's Ministry of Culture and Tourism. After that, ``Secret Sunshine'' was released. Jeon Do-young, who played the main character who is torn by a cruel fate, won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival. After that, ``Poetry of Agnes'' won the Best Original Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival, and ``Burning the Movie'' won the International Federation of Critics Award and many other awards at the same festival. Each time he releases a new work, he attracts attention both domestically and internationally.

Interview and text: Takatoshi Inagaki

Writer/editor. In addition to writing a wide range of film reviews, columns, and interviews, mainly focusing on foreign films, he also works as an editor for web media. He has contributed numerous articles to film pamphlets, magazines, books, web media, etc. He also does research and consulting for domestic stage productions.

"Lee Chang-dong Retrospective 4K"

Released nationwide on August 25th (Friday) at Human Trust Cinema Yurakucho and other locations *2K screening at some theaters

Distribution: JAIHO

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