Cannes Short Film Corner 2018 / Light House International Film Festival - Yuna’s Lunch
Yuna delivers prepared lunch box meals and then eats these with her customers. Most of her customers are lonely and share a feeling that there is something lacking in their life. One day, she meets Anthony, a customer stranger than most, and is forced to face her own troubling memories of the past.
Interview with Writer/Director Myeongjin Park
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
“Yuna’s Lunch” is my thesis film from the filmmaking program at the New York Film Academy. My inspiration for the film was the question: “What is a fundamental platform for human communication?” And this started developing into a script. I didn’t have to look far for an answer. For me, it’s interaction that happens while sharing a meal—to enjoy a meal with someone we know, share the same space and talk about our lives. For most people, their first and most abiding experience of this ritual happens around the dining table with their families.
For example, in NYC where I live, people who would usually have lunch eating a sandwich while working at their desks would still go back after a hard day’s work to a family that welcomes them. If they don't have a family around, then they spend time with their friends, chatting over a beer on weekends. It becomes a habit, an unremarkable set of activities we tend to take for granted.
But what about people who have wittingly or unwittingly become alienated from society? They would long for even this basic human interaction. They might even pay money to spend time with someone. This was my idea behind creating the character of Yuna, whose job is to deliver lunches and talk to customers who live a lonely life.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
I think the strongest factor of this film are its complex characters. There are several characters in this 15 min film. Although they don’t get a lot of screen time because of limited time and scenes, I have tried to create an atmosphere through the production design and other elements so that the audience can feel their emotions and lives. For Yuna, even though her job is to be kind and to listen to what her customers say, she really does not understand why they talk to her. She faces them almost expressionlessly and communicates only through writing or by blowing a whistle. The audience wonders why she does this. When Yuna meets Anthony, a barrier is broken and then comes the discovery of the traumas both have gone through that hves led them to become so isolated. They understand each other’s pain.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
English is not my first language, so whenever I write a script in English, my friend Nicholas Thurn helps me with the translation. He also helps me with figuring out my intent with writing the script by asking me questions that pertain to the emotional build-up of my characters and the strength of my story structure so that I am able to write my script more efficiently across the various drafts.
Music and sound play an important role as they both can affect the atmosphere of a scene. I want to set a tone that can pull an audience into the world I want to create so getting that just right took a lot of effort as well.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Fortunately, “Yuna’s Lunch” was selected by over 28 film festivals across the world. We have won the best short film, best director, best sound and best actor in 12 of these festivals.
My most memorable comment for the film is: ‘Moving away from the deep themes and motivation the project revolves around, ‘Yuna’s Lunch’ is likewise a very aesthetically pleasing short film and especially many people said the final result remains impressive and extremely moving – and the details which do matter converge wonderfully in the last couple of scenes’
Of course, there have been some critical comments, one of which stated that the plot presentation, with all the flashbacks and the juxtaposed nature of Yuna’s and Anthony’s past, can feel confusing at times.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Well, most of the feedback has been generous and positive and frankly, been a very pleasant surprise for me. At the same time, I also understand the gist of the critique. Personally, I would have liked to explain Anthony's character and his motivations more; for example, his internal struggles and what makes him take on different personalities. I was concerned that the conflict might appear to be resolved too suddenly and too soon. But I guess these are the limitations of a short film. I am glad that many people liked the last scene of the film, since it underscores the message I wanted to convey and the way that the actors interpreted it, it came out beautifully.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Through this article, I would like introduce myself, Myeongjin Park, to a wider audience and to distributors and journalists who haven’t seen “Yuna’s Lunch,” and to show that I am a new and ambitious director. Many young and passionate filmmakers worked on this film with me and my hope is that my story helps motivate such aspiring filmmakers to achieve their own goals.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
This is a story of all those who feel alienated. I want to show to my audiences the pain and loneliness of such people in the hope that it encourages everyone to be more sensitive and empathetic towards everyone.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Yuna stays quiet at all times in her interaction with her clients, and we only get a few monologues from her in certain key scenes. “Yes, this is my job. I make lunch and eat them with my customers… I don't know why anyone would pay a stranger for this. I really don’t…” She asks herself and this could be also the question and message I want to convey to the audience: what is the price of human interaction?
Would you like to add anything else?
I would like to say thank you to Jaine and Jarrad, all the actors and the crew that worked for "Yuna’s Lunch", including both the producers. Special thanks to Ibai Vigil Escalera, the director of photography and Shu Hirayama, the editor. Both are valued friends and men I respect as filmmakers. They helped me bring my film to life and gave me wonderful advice even while developing the critical elements this film. Kotaro Hamatani (sound designer) and Seiji Tanaka (sound engineer), came to New York from Japan and delivered amazing results. Thank you again. Lastly, my friends Sukriti Chaudhari and Dina Chun, who was also second assistant director for the film, I appreciate all the help they have provided in my preparations for film festivals. Thank you so much!
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
My new short film script and feature film script are currently in the initial draft phase. I am generally a bright and humorous person but I tend to write about people who lack something in their lives and are lonely. I hope both my new films can reach many audiences soon and with great results.
Interview: May 2018
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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Yuna’s Lunch
Yuna delivers prepared lunch box meals and then eats these with her customers. Most of her customers are lonely and share a feeling that there is something lacking in their life. One day, she meets Anthony, a customer stranger than most, and is forced to face her own troubling memories of the past.
Length: 15 min 57seconds
Director & Writer: Myeongjin Park majored in creative writing in Sounth Korea and moved to New York in 2015 to study filmmaking at the New York Film Academy. Her first film, ‘Yuna's Lunch’ has been selected in more than 28 film festivals around the world and won awards in 12 film festivals including the Best Short Film and Best Director categories.
Producer : Jason Jaseog Byeun is developing a feature length documentary style movie that delves into psychological dilemma of a woman escaping from North Korea.
Chloe Hyeonjeong Na completed a One Year Conservatory Producing program at The New York Film Academy. Since her time in the US, she has produced and coordinated multiple feature and short films. She loves working on a project from the start, gathering all the elements to organize a project.
Key cast:
Jaine Ye _ Yuna
Jarrad Biron Green - Anthony
Mitchell Cross - Elder man
Amanda M. Jones - Obese woman
Chuja Seo - Yuna’s mother
Brennan Srisirkul - Disabled customer
Ji-Young Min - News Reporter
Looking for buyer, distributors, journalists
Social media handles:
Wix : https://21cinemaparadiso.wixsite.com/yunas-lunch
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? The next screening will be on June 8th at the Light House International Film Festival.