Breakthrough Vertical Format…Lee Joon-ik’s First Short Is ‘Father’s Home-Cooked Meal’ Unveiled by BIFAN

A master filmmaker “Lee Joon-ik” flipped screen conventions on their head. “Father’s Home-Cooked Meal”, first unveiled at the 30th “Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival” (BIFAN), delivers an unprecedented visual jolt in the striking format of a “vertical short-form drama”, and sets out a new paradigm for screen aesthetics.

A vertical instinct ripped from the screen—maximizing immersion

The work boldly breaks away from the sweeping horizontal aspect ratio of conventional theaters. Video that runs vertically through the center of a large screen may seem, at first glance, to narrow the field of view. But that is a fully calculated direction. It locks tightly onto minute shifts in the characters’ facial expressions and the arc of their emotions, pulling viewers deep into the story. “Lee Joon-ik” said, “If existing films are a grand parade of wide canvases, ‘short-form’ gives you a crushing sense of immersion as if you’re sneaking a peek at the characters’ private situations.”

Based on the same-named webtoon by an author whose work became widely known, the film spotlights the life of Ha-eung (“Jung Jin-young”), the embodiment of patriarchal order, and his wife Soon-ae (“Lee Jeong-eun”), who has devoted herself to his palate for her entire life. Soon-ae’s story—shattered by an unfortunate accident that leaves her unable to cook—acts as the key force that cracks open the once-peaceful family and drives the process of putting it back together.

An ensemble forged by the destruction of form—crossing the boundaries of media

The work, which headlined BIFAN’s “Platform Planning Showcase: Short-Form Cinema” section, boasts a vast narrative that runs for a total of 2 hours and 36 minutes. “Lee Joon-ik” said, “Even with a long screening, it was very encouraging to see the audience react immediately to every single frame,” stressing that what matters is the essence of the narrative rather than the outer shell of the medium. He added, “If the value of the story is clear, the format is secondary,” and praised the solid source material and the ‘ensemble’ of top-tier actors.

“Jung Jin-young” and “Lee Jeong-eun” at the helm, and the addition of acclaimed performers such as “Byeon Yohan” and “Park Ji-yeon” pushed the film’s density to its highest level. In particular, actor “Park Ji-yeon” recalled, “The vertical frame captured even the minute tremor of facial muscles in full detail, and fear came first,” recounting the fierce acting effort demanded by a new medium.

A reversal of authority and healing—new options for a family drama

The film throws both heavy pathos and a buoyant catharsis at the audience as it charts the collapse of the old authority that used to overturn the family meal table and the reversal of the relationship with the wife whose life has been defined by devotion. “Lee Joon-ik” laid out his philosophical intent, saying, “Human beings hurt the closest people in times of desperation, but the process of facing up to that wrongdoing and moving forward together is life.”

The evolution of the short-form ecosystem—aimed at the screen

Above all, the film’s achievement lies in offering a classy alternative—an accomplished ‘family drama’—in a short-form ecosystem that had been flooded with provocative romance and revenge plots. Hoping that “Father’s Home-Cooked Meal” can become a pioneering “starter” within the limitless expansion of new media, “Lee Joon-ik” is also setting up another wave of buzz while aiming for an official theater release during the upcoming Chuseok holiday break.