The Novelist's Film

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Berlin 2022, the 27th feature from Hong Sang-soo is a charming, playful, and poignant cinematic treat, receiving its UK Premiere at LIFF 2022. Junhee is a novelist who has grown disenchanted with her own writing. On a trip to see an old friend, she runs into a film director who was set to adapt one of her novels before the project fell through. One chance encounter leads to another and soon she finds herself having lunch with Kilsoo, a well-known actress also questioning her role as an artist. It’s then that Junhee has an epiphany: she will make a film starring Kilsoo.

I had a piece that was shot in a most natural setting. There was no script, no idea to express anything, I wanted to compare this kind of footage with the people acting based on a script I gave. I don’t think there is absolute naturalness. Even being alone in our own room, we don’t know if we can call it natural. I don’t think I’m seeking to be really natural. I just happen to be that kind of director. I like to see small details working on significant elements, so I’m kind of relatively more natural. Many small details happen in a scene. I scan and look through them, and when I feel OK, I let them exist in the scene.

Director Hong Sang-Soo