IT'S OKAY! Invited to Berlin Film Fest’s Generation Kplus competition section

“Liveliness forging its own path, about mothers and daughters, love and loss, ambition, competition and solidarity - all told in a complex emotional landscape of female characters.” Sebastian Markt, the head of the Generation Competition Section, praised the invited film It's Okay! for its various joys. The film will be screened twice at the festival, on the 15^th and 25^th February.

Directed by Kim Hye-young, who co-directed the drama Be Melodramatic (2019), this is her feature film debut. It's Okay! is a coming-of-age drama tells the story of high school students experiencing loss and growth, as well as the people who influence each other through relationships. As the director expressed, it depicts “human relationships that gradually penetrate”.

- The Generation section stands out with invitations to Korean directors such as Shin Su-won, Yoon Ga-eun, Kim Bo-ra, and Lee Ji-eun who have joined this lineup with their debut films.

= Although I haven't met them in person, I admire their films. I particularly like Director Yoon Ga-eun's work a lot. Her approach to working with children on set is truly remarkable. She is a director whose new works are always eagerly anticipated.

- How did you hear about the invitation from Berlin and when?

= I confirmed it via email on the night of 10^th January. After submitting the documents to the film festival, I had been eagerly awaiting for the beginning of January when was informed for the result. On a night when I was trying to empty my mind, wondering if it was still considered early January, good news came from Berlin. I was so surprised. I sent it off with going with the flow, but I really didn't expect it to be an official invitation.

- The casting process for actors Lee Re, Jin Seo-yeon, and Chung Su-bin?

= In-young is the most crucial character. It required an inner strength with a 'heavily armed brightness.' I first thought of Lee Re. Her bright personality and clear image perfectly matched the character of In-young. After the meeting, I found myself looking forward to working with Jin Seo-yeon, and she felt the same. She has charisma, like a leader, but when she smiles, she is just adorable with twinkling eyes. I thought that Jin Seo-yeon's warmth would effectively portray the character of Seol-ah, which changes from cold at first to something different later on. Chung Su-bin auditioned for the role. For the character Na-ri, I wanted an actress who smiles like a child but has shadows as well.

- The splendid buk (Korean traditional drum) dance unfolds along with the beginning of the film.

= I aimed to showcase something deeply rooted in Korean culture. While considering sword dance and fan dance, I ultimately settled on yukgomu (a dance performed with six buks). The intricate movements involving bending the body backward, left, and right while dancing with six buks were significant, and the rhythm was excellent. Above all, I believed the sound of the buk would have the most impact when contrasted with In-young's mother Yeon-hwa (played by Kim Ji-young) running towards death. We initiated the opening with traditional dance and opted for fusion dance for the ending. I extended the imagery to break the mold, similar to how human relationships evolve.

-The story begins a year after In-young loses her mother. Despite the Sad events left behind the atmosphere throughout the movie is bright. Is it a stylistic choice to use humor to express dark emotions such as sadness or depression?

= In this work, the intention was to integrate humor into the story rather than making it overtly comedic. While it's possible to convey intensely sad stories depending on the work, here, I aimed to give each character their own subtle difficulties. These difficulties contribute to bringing out the intensity of their personalities. Even a well-behaved child might find it challenging to always act good. In-young, on the contrary, finds it difficult to express her sadness. People generally tend to respond more favorably to those who speak positively, don't they? Although there may have been times when she cried alone, thinking, 'I have to be brave, I have to be bright, I have to be resilient,' she probably didn't exert too much effort to overcome it. She's someone who could live comfortably and be generous to herself, but she's missing out on that.