[Busan International Film Festival (BIFF)] Yeon Sang-ho on his AI thriller ‘Paradise Lost,’ made for 500 million won in 14 shooting days: “I make a living thanks to the three awards”

'Yeon Sang-ho' has returned to the 31st 'Busan International Film Festival' with his new film 'Paradise Lost'. Fifteen years ago, he made a major mark on the film industry with the animated film 'The King of Pigs', which won three awards. At this year's festival, he is drawing attention from critics and audiences by unveiling a new film that set the unusual records of a net production budget in the 500 million won range and just 14 shooting days.

Fifteen years of growth and a special bond with Busan

At this year's festival, Yeon looked back on the past, when his previous film 'The King of Pigs' was invited in 2011. After studying art and struggling to make animation his profession, he arrived in Busan with few expectations. The film's first screening there became a turning point that changed the course of his career. He was astonished by the explosive audience response he heard about from a volunteer at the time, and that experience continues to fuel his creative work. The film won three awards, including the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema award. Along with expressing his deep gratitude to the jury, Yeon said, “Thanks to the Busan International Film Festival, I was able to establish myself as a film director,” and reflected on the experience with particular emotion.

An AI thriller born from a record of motherhood asks what makes us human

Officially invited to this year's festival in the 'Gala Presentation' section, 'Paradise Lost' is a strange 'mystery thriller' about Ryu So-young (Kim Hyun-joo), a mother desperately searching for her missing son, reuniting with Sun-woo (Bae Hyun-sung) after nine years. The film began with a short, three-page episode written by Yeon's mother. After undergoing multiple adaptations, it drew inspiration from John Milton's epic poem of the same name and expanded into a layered narrative exploring the essence of humanity in the age of 'AI,' one of modern society's defining issues. Yeon described the qualities unique to humans, at the opposite end of the spectrum from artificial intelligence, as “imperfection and a sense of isolation.” He meticulously portrays the confusion of a character caught between a perfectly replicated artificial being and her imperfect son in the real world.

Extreme efficiency delivers overwhelming immersion, setting a new model for low-budget films

Above all, 'Paradise Lost' has drawn unusual attention in the film industry because it is a 'low-budget film' made for about 500 million won and because production wrapped after just 14 shooting days. That stands in stark contrast to the typical commercial feature, which undergoes at least 50 shooting days. Kim Hyun-joo, who plays the lead, expressed her satisfaction, saying, “At first, I was worried about the extremely tight schedule, but in the end, that very constraint created an intense level of immersion.” Bae Hyun-sung, who plays Sun-woo, also said, “I wanted to express the character's inherent eeriness from the script by translating it into a languid and indifferent attitude,” signaling a highly concentrated transformation in his performance.

Breaking down media boundaries, with expectations mounting for the big screen

The project began spontaneously and impulsively after the success of his previous film 'The Face', and it reminded Yeon of the fundamental pleasure of making movies. He has continued to experiment with variations without defining the limits of medium or genre. The question now is how that auteurist approach has taken shape in 'Paradise Lost.' His new film, which poses chilling questions at the boundary between humans and nonhumans, opens in theaters nationwide on the 21st.