18th BFI Future Film Festival, 2024
"...when I read the review by the Jury at SIFF, I was greatly moved and comforted by the compliment that they overpraised but recognised and understood the intention of my work."
Ian
Dani
Kim
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A teenager struggles with depression and social anxiety, expressing it through locking himself in his imaginary room where his life plays out. The film is shown from the boy’s perspective in his “room” showing how real life events affect him in it. Since the pandemic began, many teenagers have experienced feelings of isolation and some of them still struggle to overcome their depression even after the pandemic subsides as this boy can't get out of his psychological lockdown.
Hi Ian, thank you for talking to TNC. How does it feel to be screening ROOM at the 18th BFI Future Film Festival?
I can't hide my excitement at being invited and screening at one of the greatest film festivals for young filmmakers in the world.
ROOM won the Wavemaker Award Grand Jury Prize at SIFF 2022, and you’ve won a host of awards including, what has it meant to you to see your film win these prestigious awards?
Fortunately, I have won numerous awards for my first film, but nothing has changed my life as an ordinary high school student, and it doesn't feel real that I’ve made such big achievements. However, winning those prestigious awards means that the story I want to tell and the style I want to pursue have empathised with the audience and the filmdom, which has motivated and encouraged me greatly that it is worth telling stories I want to tell in my unique way in the future. With the courage and confidence I gained, I will continue to tell my stories as a visual communicator.
The Jury at SIFF said about ROOM: The set design was jaw dropping and the animation was so realistic that it made you do a double take. We loved this film and the message it brought and can’t wait to see more work come out of this filmmaker! Did you imagine you would get this type of response to your film?
My film is a mixture of reality and abstraction, and I hid twists and clues throughout the film. I couldn't predict at all how audiences would respond, and that was a kind of fear that my film would not resonate with others. However, when I read the review by the Jury at SIFF, I was greatly moved and comforted by the compliment that they overpraised but recognised and understood the intention of my work.
How important are festivals like Future Film Festival in creating a platform for short films and emerging filmmakers?
Inexperienced, under-18 filmmakers like me easily get lost in space even after all that hard work of finishing their first films. I had no idea where to start, how to screen, how to promote my film, and how to connect with the industry. Festivals like BFI Future Film Festival can be a light in the dark for emerging filmmakers. They don’t only create a platform for them but also mine for lumps of coal that are going to turn into diamonds. Your film can be recognised by them for its potential even though it looks a little unskilled or unprofessional.
What more can be done on a local/national level in the UK to offer short films more visibility to audiences outside of the festivals circuit?
It can be very helpful for young filmmakers if local/national TV channels and streaming services such as Netflix offer a variety of opportunities to air short films made by emerging filmmakers.
Did you have any apprehension about making an animated short that comes from your own personal experiences?
Though the first inspiration for this film is from my personal experience, it is not based on a true story. I added cinematic imagination in many parts of the film and it was very appropriate, so I didn’t have any apprehension about making this autobiographical animation. Furthermore, I believe it is not only my experience but also what the whole pandemic generation went through together. In the beginning, the work meant only personal, but in the end, I hope this film can represent the depression of more people in my generation.
"I would have saved some money to buy a high-resolution digital camera and stop-motion filming equipment. It was sometimes very difficult to capture the very minute movements of the puppet with my iPhone."
Can you tell me how ROOM came about, what inspired your film?
The pandemic was a major event that led me to experience isolation and anxiety that I had not previously experienced and I'm sure it was the same for most of my peers. I wanted to express what I was inspired by the isolation and anxiety of the pandemic generation through the film, and I wanted to stretch the meaning by creating the psychological isolation and social anxiety of a teenage boy beyond the pandemic issue.
In my film, a teenage boy struggles with depression and social anxiety, expressing it through locking himself in his imaginary room inside his head where his life plays out. Since the pandemic began, many teenagers have experienced feelings of isolation, and some of them still struggle to overcome their depression even after the pandemic subsides as this boy in the film can't get out of his psychological lockdown. I hope they would feel empathy, and heal somehow while watching this film, just as I was able to heal myself while conceiving and making it.
What was the biggest challenges you faced bringing ROOM to the big screen?
I had very limited knowledge and information on how to promote and screen my film after I made it. As I started Googling to find youth film festivals, I found that there are indeed a good number of youth film festivals, but it was hard to decide which of the many festivals to choose. It would have been nicer if I had someone who had experienced it before and let me know, but there were no shortcuts. I eventually had to spend a lot of time reviewing all the film festivals and selecting the right ones for me.
How did you go about creating such a realistic animation?
Due to the concept of the film, the set for the animation should look as much as possible like my actual room. Therefore, I needed a very realistic set to build down to 1/6th the size of my actual room. It was very challenging and a lot of work but I didn’t give up. The animating part was even more challenging. After many trials and errors, I learned how to make the puppet’s movements look realistic. Playing with my GI Joes and many action-figure toys in my childhood helped a lot.
Now you can be reflective what would you say has been the most valuable lesson you’ve taken away from making ROOM?
Just as the message I wanted to convey to the audience through the film started from the beginning with the message directed at me, I was able to look back on myself from a more objective standpoint while producing this film, and thanks to this, I was able to find a lot of psychological stability. It made me mature to the next level.
Where did your passion for filmmaking come from?
My mind is always percolating with ideas, and I am enthusiastic about expressing them with inventive stories and unique visuals. So I always wanted to be a film director who pursues both. But what draws me the most to films is that they reflect human lives, and audiences reflect on their lives through films.
Do you have a favourite film/filmmaker that has inspired you?
Wes Anderson, Tim Button, Steven Spielberg
What does ROOM say about you as a filmmaker and the stories you want to tell in the future?
‘ROOM’ is a film that contains many aspects about me. I've always been full of thought and wanted to tell in my unique way that is untamed from being framed. This film shows a lot of my characteristics as a filmmaker. I began my journey as a filmmaker with my first work, ‘ROOM’. I want to continue making films about adolescent psychology and am working on my next film.
What has been the most valuable lesson you’ve taken away from making ROOM, and is there anything you would have done different on this film?
If I could go back to the past before shooting, I would have saved some money to buy a high-resolution digital camera and stop-motion filming equipment. It was sometimes very difficult to capture the very minute movements of the puppet with my iPhone. I learned how important money is in film production and why many filmmakers seem to be so obsessed with money all the time. However, making a movie in a very limited environment and on a very limited budget could be more fun for me, I enjoyed it, and I tried to show the best I could.
Do you have any tips or advice you would offer anyone wanting to get into filmmaking and what has been the best advice you’ve been given as you started your own filmmaking journey?
As someone who's only just made his first work, I don't think there's much I can advise. But if I may, I would like to share the advice my father has given me. “Don't be afraid to bring up a story you have in your mind.”
And finally, what do you hope you audiences will take away from ROOM?
If there are audiences who have experienced or are experiencing social anxiety or depression, I hope they will feel empathy, and heal somehow while watching this film. And I hope they will have the courage to open the door and get out of their rooms.