K-Fest 2017: Korean director Kim Seong-hun on his film Tunnel

Tunnel tells the story of a father who finds himself in a tunnel collapse as he drives home for his daughter’s birthday. The film goes on to question the value of one man's life. We speak to the director.

Director Kim Seong-hun’s film Tunnel is one of eight offerings at K-Fest 2017. Maarten de Boer / Getty Images

Tunnel, directed by Kim Seong-hun, is one of eight films screening this weekend in Abu Dhabi and the following weekend in ­Dubai as part of K-Fest 2017.

The event, organised by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, Korean Cultural Center and the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea, aims to showcase the quality and diversity of Korean films.

Tunnel tells the story of a ­father who finds himself in an extraordinary situation when a ­tunnel collapses on his car as he drives home for his daughter’s ­birthday.

As rescuers try to save him, their efforts threaten another expensive, under-construction tunnel nearby – raising the moral question of the value of one man’s life. The director talks about the themes of his film and its message.

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K-Fest 2017

• Timings for the eight Korean films screening in Abu Dhabi and ­Dubai

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Tunnel has an interesting premise for a disaster movie, focusing on the fate of one man rather than the mass destruction often associated with the genre. What was the reason for this?

If it was a movie focusing vastly on entertainment, it could be an advantage to have more casualties. However, in Tunnel, only one man is a ­victim of the disaster. I decided on this setting to double the fear and isolation of the person who is facing a disaster and to ­concentrate more on the ­survival of one life.

This also allowed me to show the honest attitude towards life in the society where the main character lives. If there was a lot of people trapped in the tunnel, it wouldn’t have been easy to think of calculating gains and losses. Questioning how much we should sacrifice for just one person reveals whether the ­society is healthy or not.

I thought it could expose the bare face of a society where life is treated, in a way, like: "Do we have to sacrifice all this to keep trying to save just one person?"

How hard is it to film in such a confined space, with few options for shots, lighting and so on?

I kept distance between the actor and camera as much as possible in the allowed space and the lights used were only the ones that could be seen in the shot, such as a torch and car’s interior light, to ­realistically deliver the emotions and sensations the main character experiences.

Cameras were placed in ­between the rocks to catch the actor’s moves, and we were ­relying on the torch the actor was holding, so his face couldn’t be seen in some scenes – but I believe this was favourable for raising the tension and drawing empathy.

As the character widens the space he’s in, the camera also widens its angle, which lessens the tiredness and strain the ­audience could get. The actor also had to act in a very limited space that was quite real, so it helped him to show realistic ­reactions, feeling actually locked in there.

The film poses an ­intriguing moral question as to the value of a single life. How have ­audiences reacted to this?

The audience would agree on the great value of life by ­cheering the survival of the main character and ­criticising the high-ranking officials ­interested more in ­photoshoots than life, or the press who were interested more in sensational reports than life.

The South Korean film ­industry is small in global terms but steadily produces ­incredibly good movies that attract ­international acclaim. Why do you think it’s such a reliable source of quality cinema?

To have good movies ­produced continuously, the solid ­artistic background seems to be ­important. Film is often called a composite art, which borrows from different forms of art such as narration, music, fine arts, ­et cetera, and I think Korean ­society has these backgrounds.

Also, funding is ­highly ­important and Korea has ­relatively well-built public and private funding to support the film industry, directly and ­indirectly. This stability grants a cycle bringing quality ­manpower to the industry.

Also, the Korean audience’s huge interest in films from their own country made this ­possible. Of course, they don’t blindly ­support – they ­sometimes look away with a fierce criticism, and sometimes show deepest ­affection.

Therefore, films in ­Korea must satisfy these strict and sharp audiences to survive, and this leads them to grow ­further.

Are you familiar with the film ­industry in the Arabian Gulf? Do you have advice for ­filmmakers there, or the industry as a whole, on how to prosper ­outside of the ­Hollywood bubble?

I don’t have much details of the Gulf film industry. Iran might not be included in the industry we’re talking about, but director Abbas Kiarostami, who passed away last year, has impressed a lot of Korean ­directors for a long time, including myself. I also wish to keep watching great films such as A Separation, by ­Asghar Farhadi. As for advice, I think you should just keep ­making what you like.

• Films will be screened at Vox Cinemas, Yas Mall, in Abu Dhabi and Vox, Mall of the Emirates, in Dubai. All screenings are free but seats should be reserved in advance at www.k-filmfest.com