[Herald Interview] Korean-Canadian director readies for Korean debut

“In Her Place,” the sophomore feature-length presentation by Korean-Canadian director Albert Shin, has been making its way through the international film festival circuit after premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival last year. Along the way, it has picked up awards at the Montreal Festival du Nouveau Cinema, the Taipei Film Festival and the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. 

Ironically, the one place that Shin, 31, had not been to show the movie was where it was filmed: Korea.

He finally got that chance at CGV Apgujeong on Nov. 27, with the movie’s first Korean screening as part of the Seoul Independent Film Festival.

“The question I get asked a lot (at festivals) is, ‘What do people in Korea think of the film? What’s the response been like?’ So I’m excited to show it here,” he told The Korea Herald with a nervous smile.

Shin’s anxiety is understandable; his first Korean-language film is about a sensitive topic here -- adoptions that take place under the table to prevent stains to a family’s reputation.

“There was a lot of self-apprehension ... a lot of me giving excuses as to why I shouldn’t make the film,” he said when asked about the touchy subject matter. 

“I’m a guy from Canada. Why am I making a film about secret adoption in Korea? I don’t have children. ... All the excuses I came up with didn’t negate the fact that intrinsically, I wanted to tell this story.”

The film is mainly about the relationship between three unnamed women -- a pregnant teenage girl, her mother and the woman who hopes to adopt the baby once the child is born. The film is a psychological drama, filmed almost completely on a run-down farm owned by Shin’s relatives in South Chungcheong Province and filled with long, intense silences between the three anonymous women, giving each of their perspectives their due share of screen time.

“My movie’s not a soapbox film,” Shin said. “I’m not trying to tell people what’s right or wrong. I don’t feel like I’m in a position to say that. That was important to me. I wasn’t projecting my own philosophy or social position on something ... it’s just about these three women.” 

Shin says his film brings together Western influences on his work, while also blending in with the Korean art-house film landscape, which he explored in-depth while looking for his main actresses. 

“The first thing I noticed was that indie Korean cinema is very transgressive. There’s a lot of anger, and yelling and screaming, and terrible things piling on top of more terrible things. My film definitely can fit in that realm,” he said, while adding, “I didn’t want to just want to make another Korean film. I wanted to do something different...play in the same sandbox, but bring my influences and upbringing.”

“It has a different kind of tempo,” he said, struggling to find the right words to describe his film. “It has a different rhythm and feeling than a lot of Korean films. It has a very peaceful, existential flow to it.”

According to Shin, “In Her Place” contrasts with his feature debut “Point Traverse“ (2009), in which two childhood friends grapple with introspective struggles after witnessing a murder. “But if you watch the two films, they feel like they come from the same person. The DNA is the same,” he said. “The genres are different and the styles are different, but hopefully that subtextual tissue will feel like one person. I hope.”

The success of “In Her Place” has opened doors for Shin, who is currently working on a bigger commercial Canadian film. He says it will be a challenge because “you have to fork over a lot of control” with commercial films. “At the same time ... I like the idea of being able to paint on a bigger canvas as well,” he said. “Working with a writer, working with a production company that’s not my own, it’s completely different. I don’t know if I’ll like it or if I won’t.”

For now, Shin says he’ll enjoy his time in Korea, seeing how his film is received.

“In Her Place” opens in local theaters on Dec. 17.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)