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Fiction ㅣ JEONJU Lab: Feature Length

FOLKLORE

JUNG Se-um
Korea 100min 4K Color Fiction
Production StatusScenario Development
Goal of ParticipationFundraising, Distributor Meeting, World Sales, Second Rights Platform Meeting
Production budget2,000,000,000 KRW
Budget Required1,980,000,000 KRW
Secured budget
  • Korean Film Council[Development Fund] : 15,000,000 KRW
  • JEONJU International Film Festival[First Fund Grant] : 5,000,000 KRW
LOGLINE

A funeral director comes across a scarecrow ritual that could revive her long-lost husband but at the cost of killing people for their hearts.

SYNOPSIS

A funeral director, Hae-ah’s life falls apart after losing her husband in an accident on their wedding anniversary. Years later, still grieving, Hae-ah stumbles across a rural village and witnesses a ritual reviving the dead using a scarecrow. But there is a cost - you need someone else’s heart to complete the ritual. Soon after, Hae-ah uses the dead bodies that enter her funeral home to bring back her husband, John, to life. However, their sweet reunion is cut short as, after a brief time, John returns to the state of a regular scarecrow. To keep this happy dream at all times, the sacrifice of a human heart is required regularly and she decides to do whatever it takes even if it means becoming a murderer.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

We experience ‘loss’ big and small throughout our lives, from losing simple physical belongings to losing relations such as a beloved friend. Of all the losses we experience, ‘death’ is the most painful because it is inevitable. In time, every human dies, and our loved ones will pass away. Death and loss can affect us differently, as is how we cope with it. With FOLKLORE, I wanted to explore the various stages of grief through the eyes of a young woman who lost her husband.

INTERVIEW
What inspired you to start this project?
For me, a single image starts a new story. In the beginning, I envisioned a ‘person who believes that there is a soul inside a mannequin’, and from there I imagined why that person would treat a mannequin like a real human being. To some, that notion would seem crazy, but to others, they may feel sympathy and that gave me the strength to pursue deeper into the story. The protagonist Hae-Ah helps others with their grief but cannot overcome her own, and with that in mind, I wanted to talk about ‘loss’ and ‘grief’. Lastly, I replaced the mannequin with a scarecrow and that’s how this version of FOLKLORE came to be.
Is there any emotion you want the audience to feel after watching this film?
Since the explosion of Korean occult horror genre films such as The Priests (2015), THE WAILING (2016), Sleep (2023), the ‘occult’ genre, which was deemed to be a Western exclusive specialty, found a warm, welcoming domestic audience with its incorporation of Korean themes.

Our project FOLKLORE differentiates itself from the films that came before in the sense that it will deal with ‘village ritual’ and ‘folk ritual’ in the place of ‘shamanism’ and ‘exorcism’. With that in mind, I have faith in our ability to capture a unique visual palette that has not been shown to moviegoers.

A concrete concept of a ‘scarecrow that is a living embodiment of the deceased’ can bring forth a bizarre atmosphere and invoke curiosity from both domestic and international audiences.

In addition, by dealing with the universal theme of ‘loss’ and ‘death’ that follows after losing a loved one, we believe it is possible to deliver a much richer horror drama that can elicit emotional empathy.
DIRECTOR
JUNG Se-um
Jung Se-um is a graduate of the Department of Film at Seoul Institute of the Arts, and she is a writer and director of many shorts - her most recent short film, Baton Touch (2022), has been invited to the 20th GwangHwaMun International Short Film Festival and the 23rd Woodstock Film Festival. Made By (2017) was screened at the 17th Seoul International New Media Festival. A seasoned writer, she also worked as a journalist focusing on book reviews as well as travel journals.
Made By (2017), Baton Touch (2022)
PRODUCER
PARK Doo-hee
Park Doo-hee is a film producer and the founder/CEO of the Korean production company Film Run. A 10-plus-year veteran of the Korean film industry, Park has extensive experience working in film financing, distribution, and marketing. His first feature film was Merry Christmas Mr. Mo (2017) which won the NETPAC Award at the 21st Busan International Film Festival. The second feature release Moonlit Winter (2019) went on to win the Best Director & Screenplay at the 41st Blue Dragon Film Award.
Merry Christmas Mr. Mo (2017), Moonlit Winter (2019)
CHOI Chan
Producer CHOI Chan was born in Seoul and graduated from the Korea National University of Arts with a degree in film. Prior to joining the company, CHOI had worked extensively in film and production before leaving the current position to join Film Run. Growing up watching VHS versions of favorite films until the tape stretched out, he looks inward every day during meditation to find an ever growing love for cinema and hopes to put that into work.
Stories We Tell (2016), Fairytale in Life -inspired by DISNEY- (2017), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (2018)
CONTACTpdh@filmrun.co.kr
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