(Yonhap Interview) Filmmaker draws on childhood memories in `Treeless Mountain`

(ATTN: photos available)
By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, May 14 (Yonhap) -- A colleague once told her she is more like a man,
hardly a suitable description for a fragile woman like director Kim So-yong. But
as a creator of two internationally-acclaimed soul-searching films, there were
moments when she had to muster a force exceeding her femininity.
"I don't know if it was supposed to be an insult, but I thought it was funny,"
the 40-year-old filmmaker said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency. "I'm not
sure if the status (as a female, Korean-American director) helps or hinders me
yet, but I don't think about this unless someone points it out to me."
Racking up awards at international film fests in Pusan, Dubai and Berlin last
year, Kim's second feature "Treeless Mountain" has been praised by film critics
as one of the most noteworthy entries in the recent festival circuit. Released in
New York last month, the film is expected to hit South Korean theaters in July or
August.
"I feel very fortunate," Kim said. "I've had people talk about 'In Between Days'
and 'Treeless Mountain' together. What is surprising about that is that people
have actually seen my first film!"
A follow-up to her debut "In Between Days," which earned a Special Jury Prize at
Sundance in 2006, "Treeless???" is about two orphaned sisters in Seoul trying to
adapt to drastic changes forced on them by indifferent adults.
While her first cinema work was inspired by the director's own teenage years in
Los Angeles, "Treeless???" reflects Kim's childhood in South Korea, which she
left when she was 12 years old.
The life of the two main characters, seven-year-old Kim Hee-yeon and
five-year-old Kim Song-hee, stems from the memories of Kim's childhood, in which
she with her grandparents on a farm after her parents' divorce.
"I started to write (the scenario) from a specific memory," she said. "Memories
are powerful in that it's also very much fictionalized reality, I believe. I
tried to get the story to a point where my personal agenda no longer exists and
the characters are fully realized."
The two girls at center of the film -- portraying poignantly their childish
longings in a world of irresponsible adults and the elder sister's protective
attitude toward her sibling -- were surprisingly non-actors found after a
time-consuming search. While the older girl was found in an elementary school in
Seoul, the younger came from a Korean foster home.
"The casting process was the most difficult and took the longest," Kim said. "We
had a strict deadline and I was anxious that I might not find the right girls in
time. But we found them luckily with the help from friends in Korea."
Although young, the two girls were both very self-disciplined, the director added.
"Before filming and during the shoot, they did not know the details of the story.
They only knew the film was about a relationship between two sisters."
Taking a minimal and naturalistic style, Kim spends a large proportion of the
film on extreme close-up of Jin (Kim Hee-yeon)'s face, catching even the smallest
expressions as she silently observes the adults and reacts to the world around
her.
"What I tried to do is to shoot in such a way to make the audience feel intimacy
of being with the girls," Kim said. "I felt this was important to correctly
represent their points of view and perspective."
Kim's relationship with her husband Bradley Rust Gray, a New York-based
independent filmmaker, has also drawn keen attention among American film circles.
Gray's second feature, "The Exploding Girl," which debuted at the Berlin
International Film Festival this year, will screen in competition at the upcoming
Tribeca Film Festival.
Now married for 10 years after first meeting in Chicago at the Art Institute, Kim
said she and her husband "always talk about films" and had "many influences from
each other."
"I learned filmmaking from working with my husband on his first feature. Brad's
films are incredibly beautiful," Kim said. "He works differently than I do and
our process is different, but I think at the end, we both make very personal
films."
Despite the similarities, Kim said it was unlikely she will work with her husband.
"We consult each other all the time, but no, we will not collaborate on a film
where we co-direct it. We would fight way too much."
Although she will continue to draw from personal experiences, Kim said she also
wants to adopt a book with a totally different type of story in the future,
"perhaps a wacky horror film for fun."
"I've only made two films so I feel like I have much more to learn. Now, I dream
of becoming a better filmmaker," she said.
Kim said she would also like to work with South Korean actor Sol Kyung-gu and
actress Moon So-ri in the future with "Oasis" being her favorite Korean film.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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