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Documentary ㅣ Work In Progress

Pull

LEE Soojung
Korea 112min 2K Color Documentary
Production StatusPost Production
Goal of ParticipationWorld Sales, Distributor Meeting, Second Rights Platform Meeting
Production budget130,000,000 KRW
Budget Required55,000,000 KRW
Secured budget
  • Korea Film Council[Production Fund] : 40,000,000 KRW
  • DMZ DOCS Industry[Development Fund] : 5,000,000 KRW
  • Mitte des Lebens[Self-funding] : 20,000,000 KRW
  • Self-funding : 10,000,000 KRW
LOGLINE

In Korea, where cannabis is an illegal substance, these are testimonies from people who’ve been imprisoned for the consumption or on the verge of being in such situations.

SYNOPSIS

'Doctor Maga', who suffered from burnout syndrome and panic disorder, discovered the positive effects of using CBD and was imprisoned for trying to help a fellow patient while researching pharmacological aspects of cannabis. Cheon Ho-gyun, a farmer who wants to advance peace and unification of the Korean Peninsula and create an ecological environment, begins hemp farming for the first time in Paju, the border area between North and South Korea. However, in Korea, where cannabis has been strictly banned since the 1970s and is still referred to as an illegal substance, their movement encounters several obstacles.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

Most Koreans who have lived in a country where marijuana has been banned for 50 years are ignorant about it. Ignorance gives rise to misunderstandings and often leads to criticism, branding our neighbors as illegal beings. Are they people who break the law just to have fun? How has Korea, which has achieved high economic growth but has the world's highest suicide rate, made people sick? This documentary traces the background of cannabis, which has been with humanity for a long time, being treated as a drug under capitalism. It explores the possibility of a grass that can be an alternative for the earth and humans in the era of the climate crisis.

INTERVIEW
What inspired you to start this project?
While I was interested in diseases such as depression, schizophrenia, and panic disorder and was covering drug addicts and opioid addicts, I met a marijuana user. She, active in ecology and environmental activism, suggested that I produce a documentary saying that cannabis, an illegal substance in Korea, could be an alternative to saving the planet. Having only heard about cannabis and being ignorant about it, I set out to find this herb—the grass I encountered during the pandemic “pull”ed (attracted) me with its green freshness. I wanted to protect this grass, meet people like this grass who live under misunderstandings and stigma, and dig into the reasons for hidden things that exist within us.
Is there any emotion you want the audience to feel after watching this film?
I hope you raise questions about the laws established by the government and listen to the voices of sick people. Rather than criticizing the interviewees who had the courage to testify without knowing much about them, I hope that this film will serve as an opportunity for people to take an interest in the grass that has been with humanity for a long time! In this way, it would be good if we could find a way to end wars led by capital and allow everyone to live in peace.
DIRECTOR
LEE Soojung
Born in 1963. She majored in English literature in college and film directing at KAFA(Korean Academy of Film Arts). She has worked as a broadcast documentary director and feature film producer, and has been steadily directing and producing independent documentaries since 2011. Her representative work Time to Read Poems (2016) was invited to film festivals in Europe, the Middle East, and South America, including the Busan International Film Festival and DOK Leipzig, and Sister J (2020) won the BIFF Mecenat Award at the Busan International Film Festival.
Jinsuk&Me (2012), Time to Read Poems (2016), Sister J (2020)
PRODUCER
KIM Young
KIM Young is the associate producer of Pull (2024). She co-produced the Korean-French international documentary The Man Who Paints Water Drops (2022), which world premiered in the competition section at HotDocs Film Festival. It won the Silver Horn Award for High Artistic Value at the Krakow Film Festival, the Young Jury Award at Corsica Doc Ajaccio, and was screened at many renowned documentary film festivals. Its Korean premier was at the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival and won a Special Prize for Emerging Documentary Filmmaker. It also won the Documentary Director Award at the Wild Flower Film Awards and was screened at the Seoul Independent Film Festival. She is currently working on multiple international documentary projects.
Space Girl (2018, 360 VR Cinema), The Man Who Paints Water Drops (2022), Everything That Connects Us (2024)
CONTACTpotatosym@naver.com
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