[단독] Shin Seok-ho of ‘In the Water’ “Hong Sang-soo and Kim Min-hee’s filming set burden? It’s a model for me” (interview)

“Isn’t it too difficult or burdensome? Not at all. From my first field experience, debut film, and first lead role, I worked with director Hong Sang-soo and senior Kim Min-hee. The scene with them became a model for me (laughs)”

Shin Seok-ho (35), a pupil of master director Hong Sang-soo and the lead actor in his new film ‘In the Water’, said this and smiled shyly. He learned ‘movie’ from director Hong Sang-soo, a professor of film directing at Konkuk University’s Department of Visual and Film, and gained on-site experience by participating as a staff member at his production site. I also felt the thrilling taste of my first acting there.

Now, for the first time in his life, he will step on the red carpet at the Berlin Film Festival as a proper ‘protagonist’.

In 2021, Shin Seok-ho took the lead role for the first time in his life in ‘Introduction’, director Hong’s 25th feature film and winner of the Silver Bear Award at the 71st Berlin International Film Festival. He became the representative face of the ‘new generation of Hong Sang-soo’s World’ both in name and reality.

He, who is active without an agency, had difficulty contacting Maeil Business Star Today. I could feel the bright, calm, polite, gentle energy over the phone. In response to the sudden interview request, he said, “Thank you and thank you again. Unfortunately, I don’t have a good schedule. I am currently at work,” he said. He went straight to his company. As expected, Shin Seok-ho was clear, smart, and had a beautiful smile.

“I visited Berlin once to film ‘Introduction’. I was very nervous when I went to shoot, but I can’t believe I’m attending a film festival. I don’t know what to prepare for. (Hong Sang-soo) At the beginning of the year, the director called all the actors and went to greet the new year. My heart still beats.”

‘In the Water’, directed by director Hong and participated by Minhee Kim as head of production, was officially invited to the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival, ENCOUNTERS, held in February. A new competitive section launched last year to showcase a new cinematic vision, featuring fiction and documentaries that challenge traditional formats. We invite directors who accept cinema as a field that is continuously ‘expanded’ without being trapped by any ‘standard’.

‘In the Water’ tells the story of students majoring in film who suddenly go down to Jeju Island to film a movie. Shin Seok-ho takes on the role of Seong-mo, the main character who dreams of becoming an actor but suddenly challenges himself to directing a movie with his own money, saying that he will check his creativity. With him at the center, three people from the same school gather and head to Jeju Island, which is full of rocks and wind. Not knowing what to photograph, he wanders around for a while and finds a woman on the beach alone picking up trash.

Shin Seok-ho said, “(As always with the director’s films), it is difficult to pinpoint the subject. What is certain is that there were many experimental challenges among the director’s films,” he said. “The director also put significance on that part. He is an improvisational person, so we were always unpredictable. Without specific feedback, they tell us to do it ‘on our own, how we feel, comfortably’. This work seems to have been especially so,” he said.

“Some people have difficulty with this style of the director. Of course, there are many differences from normal scenes, so it’s hard to see it as a standard. (Laughs) In my case, I’ve been communicating a lot since I was a college student, and it absolutely influenced my movie theater, so I became a model rather than a burden. I just felt honored, happy, and good every time.”

Is there anything that has changed as you gradually became involved as a staff member, a supporting character, or a lead role? He said, “The director’s scene is a scene where actors and staff become actors, and the staff also becomes an actor, so nothing has changed in particular,” he said. There is. It’s really amazing to be so immersed and flow like water, even if you don’t follow the fixed movie rules. The more I look and the more I know, the director really is like a genius.”

What was it like working with Kim Min-hee, who is the head of the production office and a great acting senior?

Shin Seok-ho said, “Chief Min-hee Kim was in charge of all the work that normal PDs do, such as coordinating the filming schedule, finding locations, and supporting filming. She has been on the field for so long, so her hands and feet fit perfectly.”

He said, “Since my main job is an actor, I take good care of the actors in particular. Even the parts that the actors are struggling with are pinpointed and accurately told and helped. He also gives advice on the acting part. He has such an easy-going personality that all the juniors feel comfortable with him.”

Ha Seong-guk and Kim Seung-yoon, who worked together, are all alumni of the Konkuk University Film Department. Ha Seong-guk is a classmate who took classes together, and Kim Seung-yoon is a junior.

“Since we knew Seongguk very well, we became very reliant on each other. He was also very comfortable while acting. There is a relationship with Seungyoon that we met several times on set. Maybe it’s because he’s my junior at the same school, so I felt friendly from the start. While filming in Jeju Island, he sometimes had free time together, sometimes separately, and filmed as if he were on a trip. Everyone had so much trust in the director that there wasn’t much difficulty.”

I also wondered why he was living as an ordinary office worker without going ‘all in’ to acting.

“I don’t know what to say…” he paused for a moment before falling into thought. Then he said, “I think it was for ‘acting for a long time’”.

“I am doing my best in both work and acting with a naturally open mind, fearing that I will make the wrong choice if I have great greed. in order not to be impatient. I still think that I am enjoying more than I can. I hope to continue to have opportunities to work with the director (in any form), and if there are new opportunities, I would be happy to participate. I hope my career as an actor never ends. In order to do that, you shouldn’t be too chased by reality. I am living hard for my dream. In my own way. (laughs)”

‘In the Water’ will be shown as a world premiere (world’s first screening) at the 73rd Berlin Film Festival, which will be held from February 16 to 26, and will be released in domestic theaters in the first half of this year.

[한현정 스타투데이 기자]

[ⓒ 매일경제 & mk.co.kr, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]