ARTicle Films
Voices of the Silenced
STORY
This film delves into the historical experiences of Park Soo-nam, born in colonial-era Japan, retracing the journey of the history of ZainichiーKorean in Japan. Through the lens of two 16mm documentary films shot since 1986 and the restoration of unreleased footage, it resurrects the testimonies of witnesses. The film raises questions for audiences, probing what was lost through colonization and war, and serves as a record of the struggle to reclaim those losses.
Shedding light from the past to the present, it challenges us to ponder the essence of documentary filmmaking and raises inquiries about the significance of reclaiming what was lost in the face of historical injustices.
This film is a collaborative effort between the director Park Soo-nam, who has now lost her eyesight, and her daughter and co-director Park Maeui.
PARK Soo-nam, PARK Maeui │2023│Documentary│142min│DCP | Color | 16:9│5.1 │JAPAN / KOREA│Language: Japanese/Korean │Subtitles: English
STAFF
Director PARK Soo-nam, PARK Maeui
Producer PARK Soo-nam, PARK Maeui, Emi UEYAMA
Cinematography TERUYA Shinji, PARK Maeui, KIM Im-man, KIM Myeong-yoon, OTSU Koshiro
Music Director Mi Yeon
Editing PARK Maeui
D.I. LEE Dong-ryeo
16mm Film Digital Restoration YASUI Yoshio
Distribution cinemaDAL
International Sales ARTicle Films
PARK Soo-nam
A second-generation Korean-Japanese, Park Soo-nam was born in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, and first gained fame as a bestselling author with her book, Crime, Death and Love (1963), which focused on a second-generation Korean-Japanese death row inmate. She also wrote Joseon Hiroshima Banilbonin Nae Yeohaengui Girok (1973), which dealt with the experiences of Korean victims of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima. In 1985, she made her debut as a documentary director with The Other Hiroshima, Korean A-bomb Victims Tell Their Story, followed by Song of Ariran - Voices from Okinawa (1991), and Nuchigafu - Life is a Treasure “Gyokusai” Stories in the Battle of Okinawa (2012). In 2016, her film, The Silence (2016), was invited to the Seoul International Women′s Film Festival, and won the Brave Goose Award at the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival.
FILMOGRAPHY
1986 The other HIROSHIMA Korean A-bomb Victims Tell Their Story 58min. Documentary
1991 Song of Ariran -voices from Okinawa 100min. Documentary
2012 Nuchigafu - Life is a Treasure “Gyokusai” Stories in the Battle of Okinawa 132min. Documentary
2017 The Silenced 117min. Documentary
PARK Maeui
Director Park Maeui is author/director PARK Soo-nam’s daughter. From her teenage years, she collaborated with her mother on a number of film productions. When her mother lost her eyesight, PARK took on tasks related to video editing and film restoration. She served as the associate director for Nuchigafu - Life is a Treasure “Gyokusai ”Stories in the Battle of Okinawa (2012) and
handled the editing and producing for The Silence (2016).
FESTIVALS/AWARDS
2023 The 28th Busan International Film Festival – Wide Angle: Documentary Competition (BIFF Mecenat Award)
2023 The 49th Seoul Independent Film Festival – Competition Section (Determination Award)
