'Seoul Urban Legends' ('Seoul Villages' adapted into movies!)

In case you missed the VIP Presentation of 'SEOUL URBAN LEGENDS' ('서울 도시 전설들') in CGV Apgujeong on October 31, here's what you need to know about the first adaptation of my short stories into movies.

(Answering the question 'Some films are very close to your original stories, others build upon them. Any remarks?': 'Books are triggers. Authors and readers create their own images in their own heads. It's very stimulating to see each and every one of these very diverse and gifted creators add their own creative layers of fiction and reality'. With CHE Heesuk, YOU On, and KIM Yong-ho during the VIP presentation in CGV Apgujeong (photos Pulse9)

ABOUT 'SEOUL URBAN LEGENDS':

• 'Get out of your comfort zone, and dive into a fictional Seoul '
  
• an omnibus movie featuring 4 short films by 6 Korean filmmakers:
• 'Sweat Dream' (directed by CHE Heesuk)
• 'Black Snow' (directed by YOU On)
• 'Guisin-dong' (directed by CHOI Jong Wook, KIM Ye Jin, WON Chang Sung)
• 'de Vermis Seoulis' (directed by KIM Yong-ho)
  
• adapted from Stephane MOT's 'Seoul Villages', a collection of short stories about a fictional Seoul
• produced by Pulse9, sponsored by Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA)
• independent cinema with a touch of A.I.
  

ABOUT THE SHORT FILMS AND THEIR DIRECTORS:

• 'SWEAT DREAM'
  (DIRECTED BY CHE HEESUK):
  
  
• 'Yes, this heat is inhumane, but is there even any humanity left in a world controlled by A.I.?'
• From experimental film to music videos, CHE keeps exploring humanity and technology
  

• 'BLACK SNOW'
  (DIRECTED BY YOU ON):
  
  
• Mi-hyun finds a boy lying on the street; her city and her life itself start feeling more intense.
• An expert in short format contents, 'On Oppa' is also a TikTok phenomenon with over 21M followers.

• 'GUISIN-DONG'
  (DIRECTED BY CHOI JONG WOOK, KIM YE JIN, WON CHANG SUNG):
  
  
• If Seoul's most mysterious neighborhood claims you, don't even think about escaping it'
• Glamour or underground? CHOI, KIM,, and WON track all vibes across Seoul and beyond.

• 'DE VERMIS SEOULIS'
  (DIRECTED BY KIM YONG-HO):
  
  
• Life is a masquerade, worms roam Seoul, and acclaimed photographer KIM Yong-ho invites you to a surreal experience.
• Iconic fashion photographer turned artist, KIM Yong-ho brings a new light to the fabric of reality. 
  

• FOUR VERY DIFFERENT CREATIVE APPROACHES:
• They're all visual creators expert in their field, they're all making their first movie
• Four radically different creations (around 20 mn each):
  
• CHE Heesuk added new dimensions to the protagonist's struggles by transposing the original short story, set in early 90s Seoul, into a dystopian future.
  
• YOU On opted for a vertical format to focus on the characters. 
• CHOI, KIM, and WON built a ghost story on top of the original one, with a resolutely indie / underground touch.
• KIM Yong-ho created a highly artistic experimental film based on still pictures and quotes from the book
• Like the book combines multiple fictions about a shapeshifting city, the film combines multiple approaches of these fictions. 'This might be the very definition of a city: a work of fiction, utterly real, but always eluding its authors'.

 

(Answering the question 'Your fiction is timeless, but your background also includes startups. What did you think when you learned that A.I. virtual characters would appear in the adaptations?') 'These virtual characters belong to what's known as the 'uncanny valley', and 'Uncanny Valley could be the name of one of my fictional Seoul villages. This particular technology opens new possibilities for all kind of visual creators, actors, and performers, and it's significant to see Korea's independent cinema explore it."

We'll keep you posted about the distribution of the movie and the next steps. 

The happy few (well actually enough to fill twice the theater) who attended the VIP presentation of Seoul Urban Legends could watch the teasers and the filmmakers' interviews before a Q and A session. KIM Yong-ho's 'de Vermis Seoulis' was then screened twice so that everyone who came could watch. The whole team thanks those who could make it that day as well as everyone who supported this project that only started a few months ago.

'Seoul Urban Legends' in Tokyo for TIFFCOM 2023 (with YOU On, CHOI Jong Wook, CHE Heesuk)

ABOUT THE BOOK:

If you haven't read 'Seoul Villages' yet, download the free ebook:

• 'Seoul Villages' (EN)
• '서울 마을들' (KR)
• '서울 마을들' (EN/KR)
• 'Séoul Villages' (FR)

blogules 2023
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
NEW: join blogules on Facebook!!! and Twitter (@stephanemot, @blogules)
Enjoyed my neuroses? Check my prose: Seoul Villages, dragedies.com.

 

*  among many others:

• 소설 '서울 도시 전설' 옴니버스 영화로…"깊고 놀라운 표현"(종합) [N현장] - 뉴스1 - https://www.news1.kr/amp/articles/?5216311
•  [[영화] 31일 사진작가 김용호의 실험영화 <데 베르미스 서울리스> 시사회 -https://m.monthly.chosun.com/client/mdaily/daily_view.asp?idx=18655&Newsnumb=20231018655 
•  영화·AI의 접목…예술 분야 신인 감독이 AI와 만났을 때[SS현장] - https://m.sportsseoul.com/news/read/1364905
  

News biorhythms and the future of newspaper

Before the introduction of printing in Europe by Guthenberg, people would travel for books. Then books could multiply, move and reach different readers in different locations. Now you don't even need paper and anyone can consult any priceless ancient manuscript from anywhere without fear of damaging it*.

Earlier this year, there was a exhibition in the library of Florence's Convento di San Marco on the process of book making, featuring beautiful objects and illuminations. I remember thinking, as I moved from one marvel of patience to another, about how people would look at a newspaper press a few years from now.

Doesn't it already seem like a black and white scene from Citizen Cane ? The journalist getting his scoop, writing it down, submitting it to the chief editor, the prints running like crazy, a headline splashing on a newstand, yelled by a street vendor...

Scenes from last millenium.

The future of newspaper definitely looks like "more news and less paper".

Many players are folding their last issues, and folding, period. The sector had been looking for new business models for years when depression struck, precipitating bankruptcies in an already fragile ecosystem.

Sourcing, writing, editing, printing, distributing, advertising... now it's less a linear value chain than a shape shifting value cloud. But there's still value out there, be it in relevance, ergonomy, utility, actionability, exclusivity, analysis / insights / advice, local, reassurance, trust, fun... or why not, the quality of the paper (actually, that's the reason why there's still a thriving market - readers and advertisers - for certain magazines).

Likewise, brands are more often scattered among media, platforms, authors, journalists, and contributors who can even be anonymous members of a popular online forum. With a high churn rate because things and people tend to come out of fad more quickly by the day. Any local newspaper can get its 15 Warholian minutes of fame because say, their cute kitten rescued from a fire in Armpit, TN has been over-retwitted as a scoop of michaeljacksonian magnitude.

Reading has become a multimedia experience with pop-ups, background music, rollover images... you start reading an article and end up watching a movie while purchasing virtual pop-corn for your tamagotchi.

Sometimes, the article you're reading is being edited under your very eyes. Like that page devoted to post-elections unrests in Iran on HuffPost, or DemConWatch's SuperDelegate list, which I consulted about every other minute last year.

News and hoaxes are everywhere, and each individual has what I call his or her own "News BioRhythm" : depending on the context you consume more or less but you somehow have to be fed at certain moments of the day.

The future of newspaper ? The term will more often cover the medium instead of the media brand : you won't be talking about the NYT nor the WSJ, but about your favorite epaper smartphone application, your favorite dedicated device (ie your Kindle, your foldable screen...), where you chose to consult the news.

We all have tools to arrange our own newspapers, but that's not necessarily what you want nor need. I started with My Yahoo! around 1995-96 but quickly switched to a more pervasive browsing mode. There are usually about 30 sites always on on my screen - half of which about news, news gathering, or keeping track of news I read.

I know, I have a problem with my NBR... I should twit my shrink about it (he takes only $13.59 + taxes per character).


* These days, you should fear more for your dutifully purchased ebook (see "Kindle's Total Recall")