14th(2012)
SHIM Hye-jung
In a car playing 80¡®s activist songs, I hover around the site of the demonstration. Although I¡¯m listening to activist songs in this car, I don¡¯t dare to go into the site. Police cars surround the demonstration and I sing an activist song at a bar. However, I can hear young people singing from the square in Seoul City Hall.
The Song Is Singing by a video artist, SHIM Hye-jung, examines the present lives of the older generation who were the pillars of resistance in the past, through songs people sang in the political activist movement during the struggle for democratization in the 80s. The songs, which were symbols of the past generation¡¯s activist movement, are unable to be heard in the world; instead, they are heard in bars and pubs. People barely pay attention to these songs, as they would to an old pop song. These songs can be the symbol and the scar of the glorious past, a memory, but they can never be the present. The director questions the way and the meaning of the older generation¡¯s resistance in the middle of the popular movements in the 2000s, as songs from the younger generation¡¯s movement are heard in the City Hall Square. (HONG So-in)
Synopsis
In a car playing 80¡®s activist songs, I hover around the site of the demonstration. Although I¡¯m listening to activist songs in this car, I don¡¯t dare to go into the site. Police cars surround the demonstration and I sing an activist song at a bar. However, I can hear young people singing from the square in Seoul City Hall.
Program Note
The Song Is Singing by a video artist, SHIM Hye-jung, examines the present lives of the older generation who were the pillars of resistance in the past, through songs people sang in the political activist movement during the struggle for democratization in the 80s. The songs, which were symbols of the past generation¡¯s activist movement, are unable to be heard in the world; instead, they are heard in bars and pubs. People barely pay attention to these songs, as they would to an old pop song. These songs can be the symbol and the scar of the glorious past, a memory, but they can never be the present. The director questions the way and the meaning of the older generation¡¯s resistance in the middle of the popular movements in the 2000s, as songs from the younger generation¡¯s movement are heard in the City Hall Square. (HONG So-in)
SHIM Hye-jungSHIM Hye-jung
Born in Seoul, South Korea. She works as a filmmaker and artist. She has directed a number of productions that span a variety of genres, from dramatic films, experimental films, documentaries, and more. Her films have been presented at the Seoul Women¡¯s International Film Festival, Jeonju International Film Festival, and many more leading film festivals in Korea. Camellias in Bloom was nominated for the short film competition at the 38th Blue Dragon Awards. A Bedsore is her first feature film.