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Lee Myung-se has directed the annual Seoul Eco Film Festival since 2018. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
Film director Lee Myung-se highlights critical role of environmental film festival in Seoul
By Ko Dong-hwan
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Lee Myung-se speaks during the opening ceremony of 18th Seoul Eco Film Festival at Rachel Carson Hall in Greenfund's headquarters in Seoul's Jung District on June 3. Courtesy of Seoul Eco Film Festival |
So, when planning this year's 18th SEFF with this conviction, he decided to bring to the festival 10 films by the Italian neo-realist director Michelangelo Antonioni. These films, produced from 1949 to 1970, at first raised doubts for those on the festival's executive committee. "What do these films have to do with the environment?" they asked.
"This year's festival starts with the environment, but in the end, its message is directed at humans," Lee told The Korea Times. "Trees in Amazon rainforests are being destroyed to produce coffee beans and raise livestock for human consumption, all the while generating carbon emissions, the effects of which ultimately reverberate back to humans by intensifying the impact on climate change. Looking at these problems, we can see that humans are their fundamental cause."
That's where Lee raises his point about Antonioni ― to look at humans more closely through his fictional and documentary films, which are steeped in the director's effort to magnify the minds of humans situated in different environments that visually represent a character's psychological state. Antonioni's movies, according to Lee, are filled with metaphorical images that figuratively show the "true colors" and "existential values" of humans in various settings ― like an abandoned house or a deserted park in "The Vanquished" (1953), busy factories in "The Cry" (1957), a crowded high-society party in "The Night" (1961), or a bustling stock exchange in "The Eclipse" (1962).
The connection between Antonioni's films ― which explore in depth the relationship between humans and the environment ― and this year's SEFF, was so obvious to Lee that he believes exhibiting the Italian films at the festival couldn't be more fitting.
"When I saw 'The Eclipse' at a Megabox theater in the Seongsu area in Seoul (the only theater used for offline screenings during this year's SEFF in order to minimize the risks of spreading COVID-19) I was like, 'Wow, this is a kind of montage I have never seen before'," said Lee, whose filming experience dates back to 1988 when he first directed the comedy, "Gagman." "I never expected that his films would give me such deep a thrill. Obviously, I had underestimated his works. Then I recommended his movies to others."
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A scene from "The Eclipse" / Screen capture from YouTube |
Via Antonioni's film, Lee saw this year's SEFF the opportune venue for his "mission" to claim openly that humans are the fundamental problems behind various environmental issues. Although such a message may not hit a note with conventional environmental film festivals, Lee felt that it was the SEFF's role to send this message, motivated by his epiphany over Antonioni's anti-human perspective, which he described as "revolutionary."
"Not just concerning environmental issues, but there is almost nothing that isn't related to humans," Lee said. "When painting a painting, artists should ask themselves, 'Why am I painting this?' before anything else. The same goes for movies. Directors must ask themselves, 'Why are we filming this and for whom?' These questions all lead to the audience ― us humans. Without dealing with the problems caused by humans, environmental solutions ― like reducing carbon emissions or recycling wastes ― just scrape the surface."
Films: Made to be 'bankable' or for the environment?
The executive committee for this year's SEFF evaluated the 2021 festival as quite successful in almost all aspects, considering the fact that it was held during the pandemic. Not only did the festival see not a single case of infection while screening 64 films from 25 countries from June 3 to 9 online, offline and via MBC on TV, but it also drew huge public attention, with tickets getting sold out 30 times for online screenings and eight times for offline screenings. Overall, festival participants jumped by nearly 10,000 from last year when the number of spectators was little more than 20,000. In addition to watching movies, the participants enjoyed the festival's offline exhibition, "2021 No More Plastic," which showed how recycling secondhand clothes could inspire sustainable fashion, along with which eco-friendly consumer brands are out there.
The festival was also where people met and discussed their ideas about the ecological theme. Participating directors communicated with audience members at the Megabox Seongsu theater and via online platforms, while adolescent environmental activists from around the world also joined the festival's global youth climate forum. Indonesian-Dutch activist Melati Wijsen, who founded the anti-plastic movement, Bye Bye Plastic Bags, Pakistani activist Fatima Faraz Hoti, and Korean activist Hong Da-kyung, who introduced recycling and waste issues in Korea on YouTube, contributed their speeches to the segment.
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From left, actors Ahn Sung-ki, Gang Dong-won and Ha Ji-won, cast of the periodic action movie, "Duelist" (2005), look on as Lee Myung-se directs. Korea Times file |
Now that the festival was over, Lee is back to focusing on movie-making. Having directed this year's SEFF, Lee has learned more about the importance of making environmental films ― not one of those fictional movies that just use environmental issues as material, but films in which the director's message hinges on a central environmental issue, like "Dark Waters" (2019) ― and how that can more effectively promote an eco-friendly public consciousness.
He finds environmental education for students particularly interesting and hopes that his next movie can be about that. Nevertheless, he knows that's not going to happen. It is unlikely that investors will cash in on such ideas because they have always invested only in so-called "bankable" or visually attractive and sensational ideas.
"Even if I came up with an idea about an environmental film, investors would ask me 'Is there blood?' or 'Does anyone die?'" Lee said. "Look at Netflix. There is so much violent and gruesome content that caters to viewers thirsty for such eye candy. Those films are the ones being invested in these days because they can hook in viewers and rake in revenue. Unless this capitalism-bound ecosystem of investors and directors changes, there won't be many environmental films for the audience to enjoy. Investor preferences will render people's minds more and more barren and make the environment seem more distant and insignificant."
For the next SEFF, Lee mentioned that he might invite more animated films. Many audience members and feedback from the participants suggested that more work in that genre would appeal to a larger number of audience members, especially teenagers.
"Environmental movies basically have to be made as documentaries, to reveal facts and truths without any fictitious portrayals," Lee said. "But the problem with documentary films is that people tend to think that documentaries are boring. So they don't sell tickets well, and investors don't like to invest in them.
"What's interesting is that there are many blockbuster fiction films that have dealt with environmental issues and became huge successes. The sci-fi film, 'The Martian,' (2015) for example, used the extraterrestrial environment as a setting but after all, it wasn't real but rather a make-believe, imaginative work. There are other fiction movies about environmental issues that offer disclaimers saying that they are 'based on a true story' and cast famous celebrities. But viewers, after watching them, tend to hardly remember that the movies were about a true story and fail to link the issues to their daily lives."