“Find an item for your own project. Let’s see if your projects can be picked up in the industry when you graduate.”

 

This is what I said to my students majoring in producing at the first lecture at the Korean Academy of Film Arts in 2011. I, as a major professor and the executive professor of feature film production, had a common mission with my students to make a project that is good enough to be acclaimed not only within the school but in the film industry. One of the projects was Azooma directed by KIM Hyun-woo, which I thought was worth developing. (KIM later joined the project as a producer of the film.)

Based on the story of an ordinary ‘housewife’ who gets angry at the negligent police and starts searching for the culprit of the sexual assault which her daughter is the victim of, the film started as the Korean version of Taken. Since it was not my initial goal to train the students as script writers or directors, I only had them make 20 pages of treatments and project summaries during the year.

 

I have known RYU Seong-jin, a producer of Azooma, for 10 years and he called me one day in late 2011. (I was the producer of Sex is Zero and he was the casting director when we first met in 2002 for the film.) I thought he simply wanted to say hello, but he said, “I want to produce a film, but KRW 50 million (USD 45 thousand) is all the money I have with me, so please see if you can plan a project with this budget.”

At that time, I had been administrating feature films each with a budget of less than KRW 50 million at the Korean Academy of Film Arts for 5 year. Besides, I had produced commercial feature films for 14 years. I was strangely confident and willing for a challenge. It was then that my nearly once-in-a-lifetime challenge to make a film with a budget as small as KRW 50 million started.

 

 

At first, the synopsis was no more than just one of many items. The structure was monotone and the direction was singular. It didn’t look good enough to be made into a film. I and producer KIM decided to work together to write a script out of it. Once he wrote the first draft, I would edit it and add or remove scenes. Each of us focused on what we were good at. But at the same time, we wanted it to be an authentic film that was fun and worth watching. It also needed to have the format of an independent film because personal vendettas are not common material for commercial films.

I and KIM are both men. But I wanted to have my film speak for women and their emotions. It was not easy though because we couldn’t understand minute details of how women feel. Our solution was to develop the story with the emotions of a mother. So we tried to put ourselves into a housewife's shoes.

 

The first thing I had to do to overcome the restrictions to film production was to make decisions. To make as good a film as possible with a limited budget, I decided to make full use my connections. I had to use the one and only chance in my entire life. What I did was find professional actors and staff I knew from commercial films and beg them for help.

I needed their ‘help’ because I had to make the film with a small amount of money and I couldn’t pay them guarantees. I first went to MA Dong-seok even before I finished the script. He accepted my request without a second thought saying, “No matter what, I’m in as long as you need my help.” The casting process for Azooma started as the role for the corrupt cop was given to him. MA and I have known each other since I worked as the producer for one of the director KWAK Kyung-taek’s films in 2011.

 

 

While writing the scenario, I discussed who else to cast with MA. The most important role was definitely the housewife. I had considered having JANG Young-nam with us since I started writing the scenario. I was certain she was the one who could act the role better than any other. I asked her to be in ther film by saying, “Please read it at least once. I’m going to direct it.” I couldn’t wait to receive an answer.

I had my first meeting with her at Sanwoollim Theater on Friday April 6th, 2012 at 3 p.m. The next day, she sent me a short message and I still keep it on my phone. The message said, “I read the scenario. I really want to do it. I hope I can do well. I really want to do well.”

 

 
There are many kinds of films in the world. Some make films for money while others do it as auteurs. I asked myself why I made the film. Multiple international film festivals including the 17th Busan International Film Festival invited me and some of them suggested that I should do a GV for my film. I thought hard what the housewife would have done if what happens in Azooma had happened in reality. Then I kept asking myself what else she could have done other then complaining of the injustice or going on a one-woman demonstration.

I didn’t want it to be realistic. Yet I didn’t want it stuck in imagination either. I wanted to point out the irrationalities of society through this embattled woman. Furthermore, I thought if a victim of a similar crime was to watch it, she should feel catharsis from the housewife’s revenge instead of being desperate.

Although the film ends well for the main character, since she gets revenge for her personal grudge, I wouldn’t say the ending of Azooma is happy. There must still be bitter feelings left in her. I have a question I want to ask society as the director of the film; Because she succeeds in her revenge, does it really mean she is happy?

The film ends on a scene with the housewife standing with her back toward us. I could have had her stand the other way around. But I decided to do it this way because it would have been too heart-breaking to see her face at the end. I hope the last scene makes the audiences share in her grief.