Private Island is the first installment of the Private Island series about secret overseas travel by women who want to live more luxuriously than anyone else. HAN Sang-hee, the director of Virgin Snow, starring LEE Jun-ki and Aoi MIYAZAKI, and Star, Shining Love starring Hwan Hee, accumulated more know-how through a location in Japan.

 

Private Island tells a story of various different women who create good memories and rediscover their egos during their overseas travel. SON Eun-seo and SHIN So-yul are the heroines of the film. Director HAN received support funds from the Okinawa Convention Bureau when he shot Star, Shining Love two years ago. On Ishigaki Island, director HAN received a lot of help in the form of filming sites, human resources and food from locals including the mayor. “I sympathized with them a great deal. Personally, I wanted to make Private Island a better film by improving my directing skills. Two years ago, I had a long way to go as a director,” said HAN about why he decided to direct the film.

 

 
The filming period was less than one month long due to the busy schedules of the actors and actresses. But director HAN was able to successfully complete the work thanks to local public workers and local productions. The music of the film was upgraded thanks to the participation of producer IKEHATA Nobuhiko and music director ONOKAWA Hiroyuki of AVEX Entertainment in Japan. Producer IKEHATA took part in the Red Cliff series, Tsubalu and Genghis Khan. “All people on Ishigaki Island have become another family for me through a medium called films even though they have a different nationality, culture and language,” HAN added.

Image Factory, a local production company, took charge of preparations for locations, handling negotiations and filming. The staff knew about most of the shooting sites as director HAN visited them. Some sites were recommended by local productions. One third of the actual production cost was paid to Image Factory on the condition that approximately 30 staff members, actors and actresses stay for about two weeks for 11 shooting days. The cost covered the board and lodging for all staff members and the use of vehicles, filming equipment, aerial photography, props, location sites and local extras. Insufficient funds were made up for by the Okinawa Convention Bureau.

 

 
As Private Island is a low-budget movie, the staff faced some financial difficulties. Since local productions did not have lighting and special photography equipment, the staff had to seek out this equipment from the main island of Okinawa or Korea. This factor raised the production cost dramatically. But director HAN was able to remove elements that would have raised the production cost through meetings with local productions. Moreover, the director did not have any language barrier. Therefore, the director could efficiently and economically finish preparations during a short period by checking shooting sites in advance with local producers and directors of photography.

But some problems were exposed when the main team joined the head staff including the director. There was a communication problem when the staff abruptly needed a prop or technological equipment such as lighting or photographing equipment. They needed an interpreter. When they hurriedly requested a prop or technological equipment, they could not receive it as soon as possible. “In order to efficiently work on the spot, it will be better to proceed with pre-production stages with the participation of all head staff members although it will cost a lot of money,” director HAN advised.

 

 
Image Factory offered all of the visual equipment. A dolly, a mini jib and tungsten lighting equipment composed this basic equipment. But it takes a lot of money to bring them to Japan from Korea. So equipment support form Image Factory became a big financial help. Location sites did not have advanced equipment. Therefore the staff had to bring them from the main island of Okinawa or Korea, which left something to be desired. However, they were able to receive enough equipment for marine scenes such as underwater cameras and boats. They were able to use paragliding, too. On the last day, they filmed a wonderful wedding scene by using a chopper.

Several days ago, director HAN met Japanese people who visited Korea from the island for business purposes. They suggested that director HAN make a film about the real stories of the Korean-Japanese on the island. “I would like to contain not only the beautiful scenes of the island but also Koreans’ emotions in a film. I will think about that,” director HAN told them.

They agreed to develop the idea when they come back to Korea this July. “They think that I will start to direct the new film as early as the first half of next year or late autumn of next year. If I direct the film, the film is likely to be a Japanese film.  Personally, I hope that the film will be a joint Korean-Japanese production so that the film will be screened in Korea, too,” director HAN continued.

 

 
The Private Island series is not a big-budget film. The series targets the IPTV or VOD markets rather than the offline market. Director HAN thinks that this kind of film can compete in overseas markets. “In overseas markets including Japan, there are investors interested in low-budget films such as Private Island. In terms of film diversity, this attempt has low risk and competitiveness.” That is to say, know-how is accumulated through low-budget filmmaking, forming trust between both sides.  Then the two sides will try a film of a bigger scale in the hopes of commercial success.

“I think that if we make a film about common human emotions that can tear down borders, there will be many ways to show it to audiences around the world.” As director HAN said, the most important point is the film's content. Most of all, human resources really matter. “In the long run, that is the question and homework for us, the creators. In this aspect, the most valuable asset in joint overseas projects is human resources. That is to say, it is very important to nurture internationally competitive creators,” Director HAN said.

Director HAN is sure that Koreans’ global spirit is the best in the world. “If we systemize enterprising spirit and courage and nurture Korean directors and producers, they will be able to make local films anywhere in the world,” Director HAN emphasized.

 

Private Island will be completed around the end of June or the beginning of July. They are planning to film the second part in Southeast Asia. It is highly likely that the second part will use local location coordinators only in the form of local outsourcing work. Director HAN is considering attracting investment both from Korea and Japan. So, the film will be a joint Korean-Japanese production depending on the result. HAN’s work shows the promise of Korea’s joint overseas film projects.