The screening of “Shades of the Heart” and a talk show featuring Director KIM Jong-kwan and actor LEE Joo-young was held on November 25th (Sat) from 10:30 at NTT CRED Hall No.1,

The South Korean film “Shades of the Heart” is set in Seoul in spring with a lingering cold, exploring profound themes of life and death, time, and memory. This is a healing story that tries to embrace all viewers.

The protagonist of the story is Chang-seok, a novelist who comes back to Seoul from the UK after seven years. He spends his days in Seoul, remembering his old days there, to publish a novel based on his own experiences. Along the way, he encounters a woman who has lost her sense of time, an editor who contends with painful memories, a photographer in searching for hope, and a bartender who purchases memories. Despite suffering inner conflicts, Chang-seok tries to confront his closed-off memories affected by the four people who are also struggling.

After the screening, an interview was conducted by KIMURA Michita as the interviewer, and guests; Director KIM Jong-gwan, and co-star LEE Joo-young, who played the bartender in the film.

Director KIM has been captivating audiences’ hearts with delicate direction and visual beauty in numerous works. He says he got an idea for this film from his former work with actor YOON Woo-jin on “The Table “ (2016) and thought it would be wonderful if he could create more films together. He recalled that Yoon 's warm personality made him a perfect fit for the role of someone who listens to others; the bartender.

The talk show also included a Q&A session. One person in the audience asked about the inspiration behind the title “Shades of the Heart.” The original title in Korean, means “a place where no one is.” Since “death” is one of the themes of the film, the director said, "Talking about death is the same as talking about life. I'm grateful that the Japanese title “Yoake no Uta (Poem of Dawn)” fits the film well because dawn is a time when darkness and light coexist."

When asked why death is necessary, both the director and LEE answered similarly, "Because of death, we think about the present and engage in conversations with others. This film is about boundaries. Flowers are beautiful because they fade as time passes, in the same way, death gives life some meaning.

Regarding the question of what kind of role he’d like to offer LEE in the future, Director KIM talked about his preference for working with the same actor in many different works and said he wants to shoot with LEE again. Wanting to explore new aspects of LEE’s acting, he also suggested the possibility of offering roles like a villain.

At the ending of the event, when asked to share a message with the audience, Director KIM expressed, "We had a very meaningful time. Thank you!" LEE Joo-young said, "It was an honor to have a good conversation at the Hiroshima International Film Festival."