Selecting and introducing films by young directors, the current generation of Korean cinema, feels like writing in a private diary. It’s hard to find a diverse range of emotions in Korean series on global platforms that many people cheer for. The worship of money, violence, despair, and revenge are not the only things that happen in my land. Of course, I don’t view fiction as an exact representation of reality, and I recognize that they are also dealing with material that has grown out of a phenomenon. However, considering that human creations are a reflection of the times, I think it is necessary to look at the various aspects of life in Korea with a warmer gaze.

The four films featured in this year’s Message to Men International Film Festival are shining treasures of Korean cinema. They deal with personal emotions that are not constantly talked about by the media, and depict the intimate relationships that arise in the cities we walk through. These four films will give you a glimpse into the stories of ordinary people living in Korea and the secrets that lie within these lives.

A Wild Roomer has the power to capture a moment in time. The characters in the film walk a tightrope between intimacy and discomfort, between survival and disrespect. This struggle between the curiosity to know the lives of others and the defenses to protect the territory of one’s own life creates a film with a strange and particular rhythm, оne of the most unique debut-features in recent years.

Mimang depicts the slow pace of a man and woman who meet and part ways in Seoul, a city where everything changes quickly. The spaces they walk and talk in are places that have remained unchanged for a long time, preserving their own colors and particular architecture. The city is filled with spaces and memories of times shared with loved ones that one day will, inevitably, disappear. This movie shows that cinema is still the best medium to preserve personal memories.

The director of Sister Yujeong makes a bold choice. The film is about the most unexpected of the deaths that occur in a high school restroom, but it doesn’t point out social issues or chase genre pleasures. The director believes that there are more important things in human life than fact-finding, investigating, and criticizing. The film examines each character in an effort to understand others, paradoxically suggesting that social problems require a human approach rather than a preconceived system of laws and believes.

The Hill of Secrets is a film about how creation begins in a young person’s life. At first glance, it seems to be a typical history of a girl’s coming of age, but, little by little, it build up in much more than that. The protagonist is a girl who starts lying about her family to avoid embarrassment at school because what she loves and is good at, is writing and creating stories and sometimes telling the true is not the best for its creations. But, since creation is basically lying, the girl’s secrets and lies will mix and resonate in her real life.

Sung Moon (South Korea),
Programme Curator