[KT AI P.A.N. Interview ①] "Fascinating 'Hybrid' Director's Occult AI Film!", Grand Prize Short Film 'Ak-Tal' Voyager 1

The occult AI film has won the prestigious award. At the ‘2025 KT AI P.A.N (Playground, AI, Now)_Next’ film festival, the short film 〈Ak-Tal〉 from ‘Voyager 1’ received the grand prize. Set against the backdrop of the Japanese occupation, it tells the story of the Japanese army trying to annihilate Joseon, along with the arrival of evil spirits. A boy who loses his parents and sight receives powers from the god of Joseon and seals the evil spirits with ‘Ak-Tal-gut’. It is an occult fantasy that stands out with its diverse composition, rhythm, and spectacular action, making 〈Ak-Tal〉 a remarkable work among many unique candidates. ‘Voyager 1’ is the name of the one-man company of director Kim Won-jin, who was invited to the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival with the short film 〈Old Man, Caregiver and K〉 (2010) and has won multiple awards including the SBA Award at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival for 〈Running to the End〉 (2022). He expressed a desire to further expand the IP of 〈Ak-Tal〉 and to work on various projects without the boundaries of live-action and AI. Meanwhile, this year's award-winning works can be enjoyed on the KT Genie TV YouTube channel ‘Genius Cut’ and Genie TV VOD.

How did you apply for this year's KT AI video contest?

I had been preparing for a feature commercial film, but due to unfavorable circumstances at the end of last year, I put it on hold. Separately, my interest in AI films grew, and while studying, I came across the KT AI video contest. I thought, 'Should I try submitting something?' since motivation is important to keep doing something, and I was really happy to receive the grand prize. So, during the award speech, I accidentally said, “I am a 12-year loyal customer of KT's internet and smartphone combination products.” (laughs)

It still feels awkward to face the face and expressions of a person who worked on AI video, but I think the setting of the protagonist wearing a mask was effective. How did you come up with that idea?

First of all, that was indeed the intention. Moreover, a single character can change into dozens of faces through a mask. I used to enjoy making masks for school projects when I was young. Especially on the days I made scary masks, they would appear in my dreams all night. In 〈Ak-Tal〉, I wanted to create a mask with a somewhat different image. Recently, interest in the occult genre has grown, especially with 〈The Grave Robber〉 (2024) becoming a ten million viewer film, and I started studying our unique masks. As Japan strongly pursued policies to annihilate our culture during the late Japanese occupation, our folk beliefs were also included. The reason for the appearance of the Joseon shrine in the work, which no longer exists, was that. It was a shrine built in Namsan, Seoul, dedicated to the Japanese national deity Amaterasu Omikami and Emperor Meiji. While working on this, martial law was declared on December 3, 2024, and I felt a chill as everything I was worried about seemed to align.

It seems to hint at a sequel as it reaches the conclusion.

That's right. So, in the sequel, I conceived a story set on December 3, 2024, where the mask awakens in modern times. Everything is ready, and it just needs investment. (laughs)

If there was a difficult scene while working on 〈Ak-Tal〉, what would it be?

To offset the shortcomings that AI video still has, I used masks and conceived scenes where characters appear in large numbers to disperse the viewer's attention. I kept outputting the images until they matched the emotions the work wanted to convey. Above all, since it is an action genre, the key was how to resolve the confrontation with the Japanese yokai 'Oni'. Even if there are many protagonists, there would be only two or three, but in this confrontation scene, I included comrades who join forces, making it a large-scale appearance and utilizing the space diversely. I thought of making it spectacular. However, I also reflected on whether there was a lack of consistency, but I believe it was a necessary choice to maintain the 'emotion' or 'mood'.

It feels like watching a musical beyond the action genre. I am curious about the sequel to 〈Ak-Tal〉, but it also seems there is potential for expansion into other media like musicals as a unique IP.

I didn't have that intention from the beginning, but quite a few people have mentioned that. Perhaps it is because the masks and costumes are colorful and there are many spatial movements, making it visually appealing. I usually lay down music as a base and attach the video, so the way I transition scenes and advance the narrative might have contributed to that feeling. The background is a historical drama set in darkness and dawn rather than bright daylight, so it might match well with the stage design. Anyway, hearing such comments as a creator gives me great strength. At the same time, I find myself waiting for investors' contacts. (laughs)

How did you come up with the name 'Voyager 1' for your company?

Voyager 1, launched by NASA in 1977 as part of the extraterrestrial planet project, is the 'longest-running space probe of humanity' that has been exploring extraterrestrial planets for 47 years. It was thought that communication had been lost, but it surprised everyone by re-establishing contact with Earth at the end of last year. Looking back, whether I make a feature film, an AI film, and whether that work is screened in theaters or played on a computer or smartphone screen, it ultimately comes down to meeting the audience. The name Voyager 1 was chosen to express my desire to meet some unknown person through my work.

The director and screenplay credits are under your real name 'Kim Won-jin', and you listed four AI generation tools including 'Kling, Midjourney, Runway, Veo3' for the cinematography, gaffer, and art director credits. As someone who originally worked on feature films, I am curious about your thoughts on this.

I never planned to make AI films, and I thought the future of AI films would be more of an auxiliary or stepping stone for live-action films. So, I thought of submitting to this contest as a kind of 'pitch' for the future. Moreover, I even questioned whether I could call the video obtained through this process 'my work'. However, I also felt that the process of working hard and pressing the Generate button to create the video is not much different from rolling the camera on a film set. Seeing people curious about the sequel to the completed work made me think that there is a narrative or uniqueness specific to AI films. Above all, both live-action films and AI films are challenging. I think it will be meaningful to live as a 'hybrid' director in the future. (laughs)