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| Screenwriter Moon Ji-won / Courtesy of ENA |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
The screenwriter of the hit drama, "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," will make her directorial debut with a mystery thriller that features a hearing child of deaf parents.
Barunson Studio, the production company behind Kim Jee-woon's black comedy, "Cobweb," will produce Moon Ji-won's feature directorial debut.
"Deaf Voice" (working title) is a mystery thriller following the story of a child of deaf adults who uncovers new evidence in an unsolved murder case 20 years after the crime. The film is based on Japanese writer Maruyama Masaki's novel, "Deaf Voice: A Sign-Language Interpreter in Court." Moon will also pen the script for the project.
"'Deaf Voice' centers on a protagonist who is caught between the deaf and hearing worlds. His story highlights the complexities of mixed identity in hearing status. As a police officer proficient in sign language, he also seeks the truth behind an unsolved murder case that took place in the deaf community," Moon said in a statement. "The film will follow a familiar formula that explores social issues and arouses empathy."
Moon debuted as screenwriter with the 2019 drama film, "Innocent Witness," which tells the story of a lawyer who strives to persuade an autistic teenage witness to take the stand to prove the innocence of a murder suspect.
Her 2022 drama, "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," about a young female lawyer with autism tackling challenges in and beyond the courtroom, has earned both critical acclaim and commercial success.
It won the top prize at the Asia Contents Awards and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Series at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards. It topped Netflix's weekly viewership chart of non-English TV shows for the ninth consecutive week.
Barunson will finalize the casting of "Deaf Voice" and begin filming in 2024. Other details about the project have yet to be revealed.
Before Moon led a successful career as a screenwriter, she had directed several short films including "Written on the Body" (2009) and "Nose Nose Nose EYES!" (2017).
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