screenwriters

"The main thing for Ukraine today is that the whole other world hears and sees us, and it is important that our war does not become "habitual," so that our victims do not become statistics. That's why I communicate with people through foreign media. Don't get used to our grief!"

"My early works were shot mostly in 16mm and on Super 8. The great thing about Super 8 is that it captures details so well. It can be very subtle in how it communicates them to the public. Digital video has it own benefits, but screening Super 8 films had to be done in a private room, with a projector. This was the only way to share my work with the audience, and it felt private and intimate, like a diary. It was an ideal format. And I don’t mean just for conveying the materiality of objects, but also capturing things you cannot see with a naked eye, the internality, feelings. Digital just feels to me a lot more objective. (experience and influence of filming across different formats on her work)"

"I don’t think being able to see is the only thing cinema can offer. Other than that, it’s a media that lets you feel. The world portrayed on screen is something that’s seen, but what you hear and how you feel comes from a 2D screen to the 3D world we really live in. Cinema reminds us of this fact because the visually impaired live in this big world that is cinema. They feel cinema as if they are lying in the cinema itself, so by having audio help there’s the possibly that they understand the film even more than those who do not. I was talking to the producers of audio guides and their love for cinema was very close to mine. These encounters instigated the making of this film. (about the portrayal of visually impaired people in Hikari (Radiance), and how or in what ways cinema can relate to them)"

"Nature is something that lies above humans. Us, humans, have ended up damaging nature and destroying ecosystems for our own comfort, and have thus managed to exhaust the very planet on which we live. I think that it’s time for us to realize how precious it is to have the gift of living on this beautiful planet. Even though my powers are limited, I wanted as many people as possible to know the beauty of this world through the images in my films, and to realize that it’s not eternal, and so, in my work, I always treat nature like another character in the film, to which I have always paid respect. (discussing nature's dominating role in her films)"

"I feel that copying western storytelling wouldn't help tell my story, to communicate who I am fully. You know maybe I've been influenced by these different cultures, but I wasn't taught filmmaking by anyone in particular, I wasn't told what sort of eye to have or how to see the world. I just on set cut out the sort of images and the moments that really touch me and share that, and that's what I do as a filmmaker and I think the world needs individuality, it needs uniqueness, but it's so it's important to be different from others and I think that's what it's all about. I think it's about enjoying life and showing what is different about how you see things through film and that's the most important thing that we can do through filmmaking."

"I didn’t come into filmmaking from, as you say, watching other films and then wanting to be a director. Fundamentally, it was my love of the medium of film as a tool to capture the moment, the moment that’s happening right now. When film was first invented, there was that excitement about its ability to capture a moment in time, the here and the now. And that’s really the starting point for my interest in the film medium."

"I usually start with an outline and the basic idea. But I keep the idea simple enough so that everyone on set can have it in their head. Everyone working on the film has to, as we say in Japanese, “put their antennas up,” and be aware of what is going on at all times, because at any given second we could be filming, we could be capturing a moment. Everyone on set has this understanding, and works toward this. The rough guidelines of the story, from point A to point B, are basically followed, but how you get there is a collaborative process. The audio guys on my films keep a wireless mike on me, because they never know when the camera is rolling! (laughs) Because they never know, they have to keep in close contact so that everyone’s on the same page. (discussing her creative process)"

"One of the ironies in social climbing is that if you are successful, your children will ultimately belong to a different class from yours. There is something sad in that this was your ambition, yet if you achieve it, you have in a sense alienated yourself from your own children."

"It’s very different between writing a novel and making a film, in a novel you’re using language to bring a story to life, so through this you’re speaking of it. Film is not a medium that is carried through with language, but something else. A film can tell a story very strongly, and a film’s great asset is that it can depict characters very well. For the most part, telling a story from a novel is very strong, but I feel that films have more power to do that."

"Poems are about things and occurrences that we don’t see visually, it’s the needing of beauty and meaning, that’s what poetry can be. In a natural way there are many stories that interweave throughout the film, and the film’s big scene is not just about the tragic event, but it also meets with what poetry is about, they interweave together."

"To me it seems that films these days are becoming more and more simple, and the audience seems to desire simpler stories. Of course, films sort of shape the desires and the demands the audience makes, so I kind of wanted to go against this trend and see if a film can sort of throw endless questions at the audience. Endless questions about a larger mysterious world."

"I’ve never made films that delivers messages, nor have I ever felt the urge to make such pieces. I just like to ask questions."

"To me, it seems that the world we live in continues to become more and more sophisticated, convenient and cool on the outside, but there are so many problems underneath that we can’t really discern — and that’s the nature of this post-modern world and its problems."

"I’ve always wanted actors to simply and purely feel the emotions rather than feeling like they have to express them. During the film shoot, I tried to have as much conversation with them as I could about the characters and their circumstances. Having conversation was a more effective way of communication than simply giving directions, and I believe it allowed much more freedom for the actors."

"When I used to write novels, I always wrote for one person, for this person who thought and felt the same way as I do. It almost felt like I was writing a love letter to this very specific person who would understand what I’m writing and share the same feelings and thoughts."

"To be honest, it’s very difficult to explain what stories I see fit to become a film or not. I have several people I regularly work with — producers, actors, crew members — and it’s always very difficult to explain why this story can or can’t be a film. It often puts me in trouble, as well. I can find it hard to explain myself. Whether the story is fun or moving or might receive good reviews is honestly not that important to me. It’s a very intuitive feeling that I have — mainly about whether the story is worth reaching out to the audience to communicate with them at this point in time. Is the story worth the effort of bringing it to the audience? It’s sort of a very sensitive and intuitive decision-making process that happens within me."

"I have to wonder how much obvious messages like ‘justice prevails’ would affect our lives, which leads me to make films that ask questions."

"Literature is different from cinema in that, when I’m writing it, I’m thinking of one reader who will go through a range of emotions with me, whereas with film I’m addressing a larger audience. For me, writing fiction is like writing love letters."

"Right now, the industry might have gotten bigger. More people may be watching films. Those are positive aspects. But diversity in Korean cinema has decreased a lot since then. There are more female film students in schools."

"It’s hard for people to know themselves. It’s hard to know how you’re charming. When you’re young, even when people compliment you, it’s difficult to accept that."

"My main job is not promoting a film, it’s writing scripts, and, of course, I’m doing that right now, in hotel rooms and on flights, but it hasn’t been easy. So there’s a duality with this entire process. Of course, it’s great and exciting, but I’m also desperate to return to my main job as soon as possible."

"Sci-fi gives you the advantage of being able to say what you want pretty directly. Like, in Snowpiercer, that scene where Ed Harris has a long monologue in the engine car. Parasite has the landscape stone. The movie has symbols, but I wanted to focus more on the mundane atmosphere, on the stories of our neighbors."

"Sometimes in life, you have to run, sometimes you fall down, and sometimes you have to take a break, but it seems I have always focused on running."

"Directing takes more courage than acting."

"Big question! When my film was released in the autumn, there was a huge discourse regarding feminism in Korea, and thanks to that, there were a lot of discussions connecting my film and the issue of feminism; I felt really thankful about that. Now, the #MeToo movement in Korea… It means that many people in Korea are going through a hard time now, not just the victims and the offenders, but also people who were there when it happened. But, I think this is a time that we have to go through; of course, it is very painful, but we need to go through the pain in order to heal. Also, in the film industry, there are a lot of trials and movements to make the situation better. There are discussions about sexual equality not only in the film industry, but also in the world of theatre, and in other cultural professions. It’s very hard and painful right now, but it is a period of time that we need."

"Maybe just from life. It seems like there are no new stories in the world. Even though there are stories with something to say, and we have heard everything. But more than new stories - what kind of feeling could we get from them? If it could give you a different feeling, that's probably the kind of story I want to do, is how I feel."

"I don’t think I’m pessimistic at every point, but I want to be honest in the face of the reality that stands in front of us. With Parasite, my thinking was that mankind’s achieved such great development — like the mobile devices we see in front of us but if we think about the past 30 years, has the gap between rich and poor dissipated? Not really. I have a son myself, do I think things are going to improve in his generation? I don’t really think that either. That is the source of a lot of fear, actually. So I wanted to be honest with that fear and sadness and really deliver that."

"There are actors who have a naturally cold aura. I don’t think I’m a big fan of that. You have to talk about people’s lives [in acting]. We probably don’t understand [others] 100 percent. It’s not possible. But I believe that the best method for acting is to love other people. ... I think there has to be warmth toward living beings"

"I find that in every new film – whether in terms of becoming a new character or more generally the shooting or production – I’m rarely working with the same people or in the similar situations. Sometimes the director is someone I haven’t worked with before, or the actors are different and the stories we are telling are different, so overall every role is kind of challenging but attractive at the same time. There were some roles that I found either mentally or physically challenging but I would find it hard to pinpoint one specific role that I found more challenging than any other. I guess that understanding each character is the most challenging for me."

"A lot of people say it’s a universal story because it’s about the gap between rich and poor, but I don’t think that’s all the answer. I think this film has done so well because it appeals in a very cinematic way, as a film in itself. I really want to take time to look back at what that cinematic appeal was."

"In this film, it’s very difficult to separate the good ones from the bad ones. Even the rich characters are not your conventional, typical, greedy villains that you see onscreen. I was sympathetic to everyone. I identified with every character, to some degree, but at the same time I also maintained a sense of distance from all of them as well."

"Even the characters I create, they aren't clear-cut supervillains or superheroes, they're all residing in the grey area. Maybe that's why a certain amount of optimism or pessimism mixes into my films. I do feel, however, that's more realistic and more reflective of how society is, and how life is. If everything is clear-cut and residing in one direction, it might feel a bit forced."

"Once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films."

"Compared to Japanese or Hong Kong film, the history of Korean cinema is relatively lesser known to American and European audiences. I hope, due to the opportunities that have arisen from Parasite, people will realize that Korean cinema has also had a lot of masters"

"This is something that applies to all countries, yes. Of course, there can be understanding and sympathy and communication between different classes, but I do think that it is very plausible things could turn out the way they do in the film. We are all aware of this gap between rich and poor and this is very sad and frightening, but what is fundamentally even more frightening is the fear I mentioned earlier, that this won’t be resolved in the future, in our children’s generation. That’s something we all feel, and it’s very hard to get rid of."

"I grew up in a middle-class family. Even in terms of real estate, the house that I grew up in is in the middle – between the semi-basement home and the rich house you see in the film. I was really close with friends and relatives from both classes."

"Are they? As I am one of the filmmakers creating genre films and not a critic with a general overview of the trend or what is coming out, I’m glad to hear it. I am a huge fan of genre films and although I like to destroy or twist genre conventions, generally I operate within the boundaries of genre. There is a very specific kind of cinematic excitement that genre films can bring. And that is what I love about it as well, so I am glad to see it."

"Since Belfast, he always sat in a chair facing the door."

"Now that they had mobile phones, theoretically it should have been easier to keep tabs on one another. But practically it had not helped. In the first instance you had to remember to bring the bloody thing with you. If you had it with you, invariably one or other of the mobiles was switched off or needed charging. And then, even if you did get through, Stella's phone had some mysterious setting which diverted incoming calls straight to 'Leave a message'. And her phone did not ring. And she did not answer it."

"A summer insect flew into the metal dome of the Anglepoise and knocked around like a tiny knuckle."

"Look, see, behold. Above all, listen."

"She found a large and classy department store. Like any other city, Amsterdam was full of shops which sold things that nobody wanted. Or the kind of things some people wanted but nobody needed."

"On the wall above the desk was an ikon he had bought in Thessaloníki - he afterwards discovered that he had paid too much for it. It had been hanging for some months before he noticed, his attention focused by a moment of rare idleness, that Christ had a woodworm hole in the pupil of his left eye. It was inconspicuous by its position, and rather than detracting from the impact, he felt the ikon was enhanced by the authenticity of this small defect."

"There's nobody can fix this but yourself. You are the only one who can make the changes."

"Sit down, son, don't loom."

""Alcohol is the rubber tyres between me and the pier." He held up his glass to her. They chinked."

"He succeeded in persuading her back to look at The Jewish Bride. There was a crowd gathered around it. It was huge, big as a hoarding, a great slash of browns and yellows and reds. Two figures, a man and a woman on the edge of intimacy, or perhaps just after, about to coorie in to one another. Hands. Hands everywhere. A painting about touch. Stella joined the crowd and wormed her way to the front. Gerry watched her bite her lip as she gazed. She became aware of Gerry watching her. He excused himself and threaded his way to her side. "Well?" "There's a great tenderness in him," she said. "You can see he cherishes her." "Look at that big hand of his," Gerry said. "And the sleeve. Like a big croissant. The way he's put the paint on." "And the faces," she said. "But she's not so sure. Shy, yes. Sure, no. What sumptuous clothes." She pointed out the groom's hand around the woman's shoulder and his other hand resting on her breast. The bride's touch of the groom's hand."

""Four pounds?" Still the woman hesitated. "Any less and it'd be a favour," he said. Already he was out of pocket. He stood up to end the bargaining."

"Stella found herself isolating one particular snowflake - a small one - and watching its progress. Lifting, floating, eddying upwards, sinking among the others. Dithering. Then when it went off her radar she would choose another and watch it and will it to survive for as long as possible."

"What happened to you? You're nothing but appetite."