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Global Pitch



After Life

KIM Jeongkeun

  • Korea
  • 80min
  • DCP
  • color

Synopsis

Kyungdo is a specialized cleaner. He cleans the homes of the deceased. When his father, who works at Yeongdo police station, calls to tell him about a job, he tucks a special talisman his mother gave him from a shaman deep into his protective suit and heads out to the scene. A pungent, overpowering odor meets him at an entrance to an alley and guides him along the way. As always, he pauses for a moment of silence before gathering his equipment. A few examination books and notes are stacked in a neat bookcase. While organizing the bookshelf, a pile of papers falls out. He sees a resume with a short work history. He stops briefly after recognizing the name of the school he also attended, but then quickly moves on. Although sweaty and uncomfortable, Kyungdo is still too inexperienced to work without a mask. As the sunlight streams in though the single-pane windows, he sets aside the belongings that will be cleaned tomorrow and closes the door. On the first day back from a job, meat is always eaten like a coal miner. So, in the evening, as the sun tilts toward Namhang Bridge, the family gathers around a grill. Although Kyungdo has cleaned up countless lonely death sites, something about today¡¯s scene unsettles him. He tries to shake off his frustration and goes to write dryly about his daily cleanup on his blog. However, there are questions that remain unanswered. Could he have bumped into this dead person at some point? Why was he found completely alone? Kyungdo now begins to wonder about such deaths. 

Director's Statement

Yeongdo used to be the last place where the so-called ¡°Nobodies¡± could go. It was an island where you could leave with dreams of success and return at any time, even if you suffered setbacks. This ¡®Shadow Island¡¯, which was never reached by the bright lights of the sea, has been transformed by the construction of a giant bridge across the east and west of Busan, the opening of cafes, and the arrival of hipsters. The old shipyards and industrial companies along the coastline of Yeongdo have long since turned into holy sites for Instagram. There has been talk of redevelopment, real estate, and gentrification (another Gyeongnidan-gil). I wonder about the people who have silently been suffocated by this wave of colorful change. I wanted to learn about those who died alone in small rooms destroyed by excavators 

Director

  • KIM Jeongkeun

     

Credit