Jeju French Film Festival 2018 - Rage Room
Daesan, an ordinary office worker, realizes how much his life could make him sick.
Interview with Director Gaëlle François
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I started thinking about this movie during the summer after my first semester at Chung-Ang University. It has been a really tough semester as I encountered a lot of trouble by making a 20-minute short movie for the semester. That’s why I needed to shoot, to get back on track as fast as I can. I also needed to let out all of my frustrations.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Like my movie I am a Kiss, it’s funny! It talks about cultural differences or stress at work with a skewed look. What it seems to be is not what it is. Secondly, it’s really short. If you’re not sure that you want to watch them, just think it won’t take you too long, just a few minutes.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I needed to release my own frustrations in some way. By looking at my Korean friends, I realized how tough it is to work in Korea and to what extent the hierarchical system here could be difficult to live with. Indeed, this system, like a pyramid, imposes many social constraints and codifies the relations between people. Therefore, the “social mask" which we have to carry seems to me all the heavier here, which may explain the title of the movie in Korean. It is a play on words between an Korean expression which could be translated as “the more you move forward, the more the mountain seems big” (갈수록 태산이다), hinting at the fact that the difficulties that we encounter are more and more important, which could push us to the implode. We can understand the title as "more we move forward” as plays out in in the movie the more we see (the real) personality of “Daesan” (갈수록 대산이다).
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
At first it just started out of simple curiosity. I was walking in the streets of Hongdae and saw a poster for a Rage Room. I was amazed, and asked myself why such a place existed. Why is there a need for it? Why do we need violence to feel good or better? Then, by talking with the director of photography, I chose to shoot in a studio that changed the end of the scenario, because if I shot somewhere else, the last shot inside could not have been done. We talked a lot about the place for the last scene.
Finally, I was initially thinking about making the movie with warms tones, but the more I was trying to visualise it, the more the tones became colder. For the office atmosphere, and since I wanted a zombie movie concept, cold colors seemed more appropriate.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Rage Room was at Cannes Short Film Corner this year but I was in Korea so I don’t know how people reacted to it. I got some online comments, most of them about the originality of the movie. I got good feedback about the actor’s acting skills, which I am really glad about.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I know that the storyline is poor, it is a very short movie, as is I am a Kiss. So, next time, I want to show a movie with a longer and more complex story.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I hope I will get more visibility for my movies and it will encourage me to keep going on.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I suppose I need all of them. I am really only at the beginning and don’t know a lot of people. That is also why I am so grateful to the Jejudo French Film Festival (and now to you) to give me a chance to show my work.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I hope I can give another point of view, another perspective on everyday life experiences. Show people that these are things that are with them/just in front of them, but they don’t pay much attention to.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
The movie itself is a question: why is there a need for such place? How has our society integrated and trivialised violence? We can also start a debate about the power and authority balance (and not only at the work place) in Korea.
Would you like to add anything else?
Films are a team project and that is why I just wanted to thanks all the people who helped make them and those who have supported me until now. I really hope I will be able to work again with some of them.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I am currently working on the script of a short movie. This time I want to make it a little longer. I am working on the theme of loneliness. I usually appreciate it but, coming to Korea, being far from my family and my country, I experienced a knew kind of loneliness. This time, I want to try working with a slower rhythm with longer shots. It’s been long enough now since I wanted to try making a fantastic movie, so I am going to go with a ‘fantastic’ concept.
Interview: November 2018
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Rage Room
Daesan, an ordinary office worker, realizes how much his life could make him sick.
Length: 5min 12sec
Director: Gaëlle François
Producer: Joe Seo (서예찬)
Writer: Gaëlle François
About the writer, director and producer:
GAËLLE FRANÇOIS was born in France in 1994. She is graduated from a Bachelor in Bordeaux Montaigne University in the field of Audiovisual Art and currently enrolled in a master’s degree at Chung-Ang University, majoring in film making.
JOE SEO, the producer is a commercials/documentary fixer based in South Korea. Originally trained in London, he also has a keen interest in art film projects on the side.
Key cast: Kim MinSung, Lee WooJin
Looking for: producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists
Instagram: @francois_gaelle