Busan International Film Festival turned 30 this year. Films by great filmmakers from around the world has been presented in BIFF. It is Asia's biggest film festival where film enthusiasts gather to represent their works. In the 30th BIFF a total of 328 films featured. Among them, Korean indie film director Choi Seung-Woo's film "Winter Days", in the vision category had it's world premiere.
Director Choi always loved to work with images and sound. But never thought to become a director. At the age of 25, he took his love for films seriously and without any prior education in film making, he suddenly started making films with his camera. His debut feature film "Last Summer"(2023) created waves in the film festivals. It received awards at Busan International Film Festival, Seoul Independent Film Festival and Muju Film Festival for the unique storytelling and concept. "Winter Days" is Director Choi's second feature film. This film captures the sharpness and reality of the cold winter days in Seoul.
I found Director Choi's film in the BIFF website while browsing the internet. The silence in the trailer of this documentary style indie film caught my attention. I had an opportunity to interview Director Choi Seung-Woo via email between September 4 to 14.
1. Could you please introduce yourself briefly?
My name is Choi Seung-Woo and I'm the director of "Winter Days".
I was born in Seoul, Korea, in 1992, and I have made two feature films so far.
2. Kindly share your filmmaking journey.
I didn’t study film formally, but when I turned twenty-five, I began to think about it seriously. I was drawn to the idea of expressing myself through images and sound.
3.Are there any film directors or films that inspired your journey?
Andrei Tarkovsky, Tsai Ming-Liang, Pedro Costa, and Lee Man-hee have influenced my filmmaking journey.
4.Your previous film “Last Summer” captured the flow of life, weather, and nature. Your new film “Winter Days” also captures life, but with no dialogue and no protagonist. What made you to focus on life itself or on the things surrounding us? And How did the idea of making “Winter Days” first come to you?
"Last Summer" was set in the countryside during summer, in close connection with nature. But I have lived my whole life in the city. After finishing "Last Summer" and returning to the city in winter, I felt a very different reality. That led me to decide that my second film “Winter Days” would capture the opposite—what is unnatural, cold, and sharp.
5. In a film without dialogue, sound becomes even more important. What is the role of sound design in your work?
There are many noises in the city: the loud sounds of construction sites, the bustling crowd, and the small, quiet footsteps in alleyways. The less we speak, the more our attention naturally shifts to these surrounding sounds.
6.Instead of choosing the traditional way of filmmaking, why did you decide to make a film without dialogue?
This also relates to my first film. In "Last Summer", I recorded the voices—the dialogues—of real people living in rural areas, in a documentary style. This time, I decided to do the opposite and exclude dialogue. The absence of words brings depth. That too is a language of cinema.
7.The film is set in Seoul in winter. How did the elements of winter influence the mood and theme of the film?
It reflects a cold and sharp reality.
8.How did you hope the absence of dialogue would change the audience’s experience and interpretation of the film ?
I think a film can exist even without a story. Expression is possible without words. I hope cinema continues to be an art form in its own right.
9.Please share a message with our readers.
In our repetitive daily lives—in this cycle that may sometimes feel dull—I hope everyone finds their own meaning. That includes myself.
In the above interview with Director Choi Seung-Woo, he talked about his second feature film "Winter Days". In this film he tried to show different concepts and colors from his previous film "Last Summer". With no particular protagonist or without any dialogues, "Winter Days" shows the cold, sharp, reality of winter days in Seoul.
Trailer of the Film “Winter Days” (Video Credit : Busan International Film festival)
[Keywords]
Busan international film festival, biff, Korean film festival, Korean film director, interview, Korean film, Korean actors, Busan, Korea
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