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Est. Reading Time: 10 Minutes

MARK (M) Tell us a little about yourself - when did you become interested in film and filmmaking?

YOON (Y) I was always into art, painting specifically, I didn’t know much about filmmaking but my mother was a painter so I dreamt about becoming one when I was young. However, my parents did not want me to pursue a career in art so I was forced to study marketing business.

After college, I worked at a few companies but I was always unhappy and dissatisfied with my life because of my urge to draw, instead of making Excel sheets and PowerPoint presentations. So I came to CalArts to make art again, it didn't have to be painting, I just wanted to make art.

I started off in Fine Arts to explore different mediums but soon became very attracted to the world of animation. When I learned that my art can start moving, I couldn't go back still images anymore. So then I changed my major to animation and now I am learning filmmaking and directing. It’s not just about moving images but the cinematography, storytelling, world building and more. I would say that I have just begun my journey with this project, my first short film Parked. I have been happy since I came back to making art.

On Anxiety & Paranoia

M Your film shows how anxiety can affect anyone at any time, and its sudden onset can be really intense and stressful. Please tell us about the choice and importance of portraying an everyday anxiety trigger.

Y I wanted to make a film about the most frustratingly horrific anxiety attack experience. This film is based on a personal experience. At one point in my life, I developed random anxiety attacks that often happened while driving. I never really had trauma with car accidents nor had I ever been in any serious traffic incidents. For some reason, I would get panic attacks starting with a numbness in my neck. At the time, I was in treatment with depression so having panic attacks under a stressful situation was something I was aware of and tried to avoid. When it began happening in random everyday situations, I was really shocked and worried about how I was going to live my life like this.

Acknowledging the fact that these very distracting hell-like feelings would just come at me at any moment for no reason was new and scary. I don’t know if a lot of people have experienced this but it was the worst part of dealing with depression at the time. So I wanted to make a film about it since the shock was engraved in my memory very deeply.

M I would like to specifically highlight the moment of the talking windows because I think it captures the connection between paranoia and anxiety so well. Please discuss your approach to visually representing and symbolizing paranoia within the main character’s mind.

Y I wanted to make sure that the character was not having a hallucination trip in the real world, but was instead having one inside himself. But sometimes even sane people who are feeling stressed and experiencing paranoia could ‘feel like’ their surroundings are melting and deforming. Sounds get loud, annoying and hard to pinpoint where they are coming from. Plus the scene feels like the environment is betraying the main character, although that is impossible, thus the connection of paranoia. The audience might not get why these are happening on screen since there is no reason for it to happen yet it still does for the character, which was the annoying reality of random anxiety attacks that I wanted to portray.

On Depersonalization

M The scenes of the main character’s reality and sense of self slipping away, melting and collapsing are incredibly detailed, seamless and vivid - certain parts honestly reminded me of the amazing body horror in Akira (1988). Please discuss the way you portrayed the visceral nature of anxiety through body horror.  

Y Akira definitely had an impact on my film and filmmaking process overall. I’ve always loved creatures transforming and deforming out of control. I think I have an addiction for making things melt because it might be connected to a feeling of catharsis when portraying my anxieties in projects. From personal experience, anxiety attacks took and detached my soul and body from each other while I would try holding onto my body. The feeling of not being able to control my mind and body is similar to watching myself turn into a deformed creature.

‘I think I have an addiction for making things melt because it might be connected to a feeling of catharsis when portraying my anxieties in projects’

— Yoon Hei Cho

On Inspiration

M What are some of the films and who are some of the filmmakers that inspire you, and why?

Y As you’ve mentioned, Akira has inspired me a lot, along with many Studio Ghibli films such as Princess Mononoke (1997). I also love the works of Jean Piette Jeunet, his weirdness and bright colours have influenced my works. I also grew up watching many Korean films which are fairly different to Hollywood movies.

Nowadays, I follow and find people on Instagram through my colleagues and I’m constantly inspired by animators at school or online. I started to develop a habit of looking through animation shorts on Vimeo and different streaming platforms. I also never miss out on any animations made by Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks and major studios and love watching live-action films as well. I can say that the whole film industry inspires me.

M And what are some live-action films that inspire you?

Y For this particular film, I don’t think I was intentionally inspired by any live action films. My second film that I am developing right now does have some references to the film and book Lord of the Flies (1990). However, I did grow up watching many live-action films that might have influenced me unconsciously. I assume that Battle Royale (2000) was definitely a shock to me when I first saw it and turned my taste to like films that had elements of tragedy. I really like the somewhat vibrant Gothic colour schemes of Tim Burton’s movies like Edward Scissorhands (1990) or Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (2005). And some Korean films such as Peppermint Candy (1999) or even the recent successful movie Parasite (2019) have developed my favour towards tragedy in a story that has a twist of something unexpectedly happening compared to cliche Hollywood movie narratives.

On The Future

M I know your goals might change and grow over time, but what are your current goals in filmmaking?

Y My current and most short-term goal is finishing my thesis film by May for my graduation in a few months. I was busy for the past year wrapping this up so I’m quite excited to make the deadline. After graduation I would like to continue making short films as a career. I have learned a lot since this film Parked and I am still a growing director. I want to see what I can make and hope to be discovered by the film community. I plan to continue portraying uncomfortable emotions through body horror in my future films.

M What are you planning to make next?

Y My thesis film is about children during lunch time at school who discover that they turn into animals associated with the food they eat. It is a black comedy/horror short animation that has a similar body transformation and energy to Parked, but with more filmmaking knowledge of composition and scene transitions. I would say the next film would be the first that I finish as a filmmaker while Parked was my first film as an animator.

Mark’s Final Thoughts

• Really moved by Yoon's ability to capture and portray the debilitating feelings of anxiety, depersonalization, panic and paranoia on screen. I really like how she essentially uses body horror to coalesce these complex disorders and capture the idea of feeling like a stranger in your own body and mind.

• Congratulations to Yoon for being the recipient of our MUBI membership prize - I’m so happy to feature her within our ‘Bourgeon’ collection and I look forward to following her filmmaking journey.

  Tags Animation  Bourgeon  Experimental Mental Health

  
  Want to Learn More? Click here for Yoon’s thoughts about the cathartic aspect of melting things. I also briefly discussed the process of crafting the film’s sound design with artist Brian Griffith.
  

The founder of Hommage, Mark Shaba published this interview on 19.04.2022. Mark is a filmmaker from Victoria, Australia. He respectfully acknowledges the past and present traditional owners of the land on which he creates, promotes and screens art, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation who are the custodians.