[Sportschosun Ahn So-yoon] Director Yoo Eun-jung praised actor Im Soo-jung, who served as both producer and lead actress of the film "Shadow Child."
At the film's press and distribution screening held on the 25th at CGV Yongsan I-Park Mall in Ichon-dong, Yongsan District, Seoul, Yoo said, "Senior Soo-jung managed the atmosphere on set as a producer in ways the director could not see."
Set for release on July 1, "Shadow Child" is a strange story about Su-an, who wakes from a coma after three years and becomes drawn into the secret of a "shadow fairy tale" when she meets a girl named Jae-in, who looks like her changed mother, Geum-ok, and her deceased older sister, Su-ryeon. The film was directed by Yoo Eun-jung.
Explaining what led her to direct the film, Yoo said, "In my previous work, 'The Door of the Night Opens,' I connected isolation and ghosts. In this film, I connected the fear of loss with meeting someone who resembles me. It all began with the question, 'If I had to say goodbye to someone I love, how could I live while carrying that loss?' I wondered whether meeting someone who resembles the person I lost might fill that emptiness, and I thought it was a different kind of grief. Somehow, when you try to fill the loss left by someone who has gone by meeting someone who looks like them, there seems to be a selfish feeling in it. I also thought of it as a split between the original and the copy, so I wanted to twist that story."
"Shadow Child" also drew attention because Im Soo-jung not only starred in the film but also participated as a producer, pouring her affection into the project over a long period of time. Yoo said, "I first cast Senior Soo-jung as Geum-ok. But while we were seeking investment for the film, the head of the production company asked whether she could also join as a producer, and she gladly agreed. She seemed interested in investing in good films and supporting them, much like overseas actors such as Margot Robbie. She said we should work together to make this film well and bring it out into the world. We also discussed the direction the film should take as a producer. She handled practical matters, but she also managed the atmosphere on set in ways the director could not see. She wanted to make sure no one had a hard time on this set and that it would be a place where no one got hurt. Above all, she kept saying she hoped the child actors would leave the set with good memories."
Ahn So-yoon, antahn22@sportschosun.com
