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Factory Complex is a paradoxical but hopeful song to all those that work in the current troubled world. Although the paradoxical part is my personal opinion, and the director really thinks of it as their hopeful voices. We take the interviews of working women and through their stories we come up with the images of their past, future, and inner worlds. Work is happiness but at the same time fear for all those that work in current society, and the film tries to console them.

 

Director IM Heung-soon was an artist for seventeen years prior to becoming a director. Instead of submitting to a film festival, art exhibitions are controlled by curators who research and find artists to represent works. Last year, Venice Beinnale’s Okwui Enwezor came to Korea, researching for artists. Since Okwui had managed the Gwangju Bieinnale, he worked closely with the Art Council of Korea and set meetings. In the first set of meetings, he met with thirty artist and after the second meeting in Sepmteber of last year, the fnailist was selected. Going on a new route where no one has walked before is definitely something important, but both director IM and I don’t plan to put too much meaning in it. I think it’s more important that Korean films have become recognized in the realm or the global art world.

For the years, I’ve watched the work of artist IM Heung-soon. Video, installation, photographs as well as performance art, IM’s medium vary. For most projects, he would research and interview for about two to three years. It was memorable to watch him work and bring little pieces together. With Jeju Prayer, IM told me he wanted to do a solo exhibition with the stories of Jeju Island. So I suggested making a documentary. We weren’t concerned about the long length of a feature film as IM normally works in long breaths, while I could collect and put together the fragmented images. The idea for Factory Complex came while staying two years at Guro Digital Complex, which used to house the resident of the Geum-cheon Art Factory. We began to wonder what happened to all the factory girls. Director IM’s mother worked at a sweatshop for over forty years while his sister worked in clothing stores and frozen goods warehouse. IM had always felt bad about their working conditions and through his film, I think he tried to say thanks.

 

 

This is because Cambodia is the past of Korea and Korea is the future of Cambodia. Many sewing factories which used to be in major South Asian countries in the 70s and 80s have relocated to Cambodia and Africa to make more profit. And at these factories, there are still women who work like ants to support their families.

 

 

There’s no easy way to work. I just feel like we’re jumping hurdles of what needs to be done. Our editor who started working on the film in March of last year started dating and got married. They recently had their first child this March and yet we’re still working on Factory Complex. Distribution was the biggest headache but after finding our distributor recently, we’re at ease. We’re happy to have someone who we can discuss and make important decisions with for future steps.

 

 

The production period of documentaries are not short. For narrative films, investment companies are willing to put in development finances in order to come up with the best scenario. There are also many programs that support development costs. Because scenarios work with a written plan, the system can be more efficient. However, there are hardly any support programs for the development of documentary films. From the research stage until we come up with the basic bones that could be submitted to support programs, there are no other way but to finance our own projects. Also, many support programs do not take director’s artist fee into consideration and if the budget goes beyond the proposal, director and producer’s wage are the first to be cut. One jury for a support program once even said that director and producers of documentaries are volunteers. That was their attitude towards how documentaries were made. Not only should the conditions be better for directors and producers, but there should be a more stable working conditions for the staff and crew. If financial support programs could be divided into development and production stages, it will be more systematic and efficient. Working in documentaries, I had a chance to meet various different people and through it I experienced and learned a lot. I think that is the hardest part but also the most meaningful.

 

 

This is a hard question, but I think it’s not being burried by work or reality. History means the story of our mothers and our grandmothers, and after time, it would be our story. When that expands, that encompasses family, to neighbors, and to the nation. In that respect, people nowadays do not seem to be that interested in life and death.

Hit films like My Love, Don’t Cross That River were released and there are more opportunities than before, but now is the time to be more composed than ever. I think people come to watch the film not because it’s a documentary but because of the contents. Just because My Love, Don’t Cross That River had succeeded, if another film about the same story was to be released, who will watch it? Diverse attempts will lead to new documentary films and it’ll be the way to expand the industry in Korea. Also, there needs to be more platforms to readily show films outside of the theater space.

 

I think it’s closer to the feeling of unfamiliarity rather than finding them difficult to understand. It may be uncomfortable at first, but once you become accustomed to it, you’ll see that it’s just something new. Factory Complex is not about your story but my story, it’s a film that helps me find my way. Once we understand about other people’s pain, it cures our own pains and regenerates us. In a troubled world like today, what we need the most is to find our balance and stability. I hope many will join us when the film is released around August or September.