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- As the film has been selected for the most prestigious program at TIFF, could you say a few words?
I was really warmly welcomed.  It was an amazing opportunity to meet and see people through my film, who have lived in a different place from me, or are of the same nationality but have lived such different lives.

 

- Could you tell us a little bit about how you came to make this film and how you wrote the script based on a true story?
I would say I met with the story. Bong Joon Ho suggested dramatizing it and when I first came across it and there were two reasons I took the project. One was that it took the perspective of a sinner. Very ordinary people somehow get warped into a crime and they break down. This perspective and the fact that the story was based on a true event was what attracted me, and the dramatization methods were put together to create this film. It started with a real event and it became a theatrical play before turning into a film. What is different from the film compared to the real event is that the film is closer to a play. We kept the same time setting and type of the boat. Whenever I was stuck, we’d refer back to the original event to get more ideas. What was most important about the film is that the romance unraveled most of the story.

 

- How did HAN ye-ri become a part of the team?
It was actually a rather late decision. I had her for the part in my mind and I think she also thought about the role a lot. But the characteristics of the main female character took a different shape over time and there were minor confusions. Although the decision came late, I was confident about HAN as Hong-mae, and it was finalized.

 

- I understand that most of the film was actually shot on a real boat and a some limited scenes were shot on set. Could you tell us the difficulties you faced because of this? 

It was very difficult to shoot on a small boat with restricted space in the middle of the ocean. We had to simplify everything due to the limitations. And the most difficult part was that there was no room to rest. We had to drive out about 20 minutes or so into the ocean to start shooting. What actually worked although the level of difficulty was high physically is that the cast actually had much better relationship while shooting. No matter how much scenes you had, we all had to be in the same boat (literally) in a closed space.

 

- With director Bong Joon Ho as your producer, how did he participate and how was it working with him again in a different role?
If we’re talking about Bong, there wasn’t a huge difference in working with him again. He’s always concerned with how affectively we can pass the message to the audience. For my debut work, Bong was very helpful in creating and simplifying the message. Sometimes there are too many things I want to say that could potentially confuse the audiences. This is when Bong would step in as a veteran director, and help me simplify and also clarify any areas that were ambiguous.

 

- I'd also like to know the process of taking a small element you've heard about and making into a full-length film, what does it involve?
It is actually much easier to write something based on a true event. If I’m stuck I can always the visit the site of the event, meet the people that were involved, or go research and I will be able to find more source to work with. I’m the type that needs to write everyday. I don’t believe in only inspiration. I think everything just needs editing and improving everyday. With Bong’s help, the story became even more condensed.

 

- I think your scripts and films tend to have a dark undertone, but also have some comical elements. Do you think you will continue to work with dark subject matter for future films or are there any other genres you'd like to try?
What I like is to find hidden stories and show them to audiences by adding entertaining and touching elements. That’s why I don’t prefer certain genres over others. I like something that’s realistic but not boring. The truth is, in reality, if we dig deeper and deeper, no matter what it’s about there’s always bound to be some humor inside.

 

- Has your trip to Toronto given you any inspiration for a film?
Actually yes. I’ve seen many young Korean adults on the streets of Toronto, who are maybe in their 20s and in university. They all look very happy and energetic compared to the students back home. So I started to wonder what is it that makes Korean students so uncomfortable?

 

  

- With the ending scene where KIM Yun-seok becomes completely and psychologically lost, the long take must have been very hard to prefect. Please tell us how you as a director prepared for such an emotionally charged and physically difficult scene.
I don’t like to share too much with audiences, but the set where we shot the film has a pool that’s about four meters deep. To have KIM slowly drown, there were actually some lines we tied to him and the staff were pulling him down and backwards. Due to several reasons, we were tight on time for this shoot and that’s why we used multiple cameras to capture the shot. However, in order to really deliver KIM’s emotions, we decided to use a long take as much as possible.

 

- How did the Toronto audiences receive your film at the premiere? What do you think they might have missed due to cultural differences?
There are several areas that might be hard for international audiences to digest, but the most important part is the Korean-Chinese. The understanding of the history and the relationship between Korean-Chinese and Koreans might be something foreign to international audiences.