Teks: Gernas Geraldi 
Foto: Ergian Pinandita

Growing up in the US for 14 years, Jongsuk Thomas Nam was exposed to new types of film that was contrasted the films that were available in Korea. Not only did it challenge his perspective, it gave him a vision of what he wanted to do. Like many, he wanted to follow in his parents footsteps, originally majoring in engineering but soon realizing that his love for arts and filmmaking trumps any desire to pursue a career in any other field. With that, he became more active in filmmaking, eventually becoming one of Korea’s most prestigious festival organizers by joining BIFAN to focus on helping young filmmakers flourish in Korea’s flawed industry. Through his efforts to improve Korea’s independent film scene, he was selected as a jury for this year’s Viddsee Juree Awards in Jakarta. During his time here, we had the chance to catch up with him to discuss his favorite Indonesian filmmaker, the truth on Korea’s flawed film industry and the development of Southeast Asian movie scene on the global stage.

Has filmmaking been your dream since you were a child?

Yes. I was born in Korea, but I was raised in the U.S, ever since I was 11 years old. I won some photography awards and so on. My parents are more into medicine, my original major was engineering but I quit that and then took filmmaking instead as a passion. Partially because of my dad’s background. Even though my dad was a politician, he has a background in theater, same as my mother she was an incredible singer, she still is. My sister performed singing and dancing in university productions as well. So, when I was still in second or third grade, I played big parts in my sister’s university productions and it was a good experience, and those experiences stayed with me. That’s how it happened.

I realised that I wasn’t set up to be a politician or a doctor

While you were growing up, did you ever want to pursue anything else?
Once you get to university, you realise that at some point you have to make a decision.

Given that my dad was a diplomat and politician, both my sisters are doctors, there was a time where I thought about being a doctor or an engineer. But I think once you get to university, you realise that at some point you have to make a decision. Freshman year you can just enjoy your time, but during my sophomore year, I realised that I wasn’t set up to be a politician or a doctor, per se. I have always had a love for film and the arts, so that’s how I decided to pursue that. 

Can you share with us your journey when you found out that you wanted to pursue filmmaking as a career? Did you watch any particular film that inspired you?
He gave me a brand new vision, one that I wanted to do.
Yes of course! it’s  Martin Scorsese, he was a huge impact to me at the time. An American indie director based in New York rather than Hollywood. There are a lot of his films that I like, but he made a film called “After Hours”, released in 1985, that was during my senior year in high school. It’s a black comedy which happens within the period of 12 hours. I watched that and realised that there are more than just slashers, more than just regular comedies because he literally turned the whole scene upside down. He gave me a brand new vision, one that I wanted to do. I was always into indie films more than Hollywood films, but I also worry that at the time, indie films may not be commercially viable. But with Martin Scorsese and “After Hours” I realised that it was possible, depending on how you put your heart into it. 

Once I got to college I started getting into Stanley Kubrick films, you can’t go wrong with “A Clockwork Orange”. Once you watch that, again, your vision or your direction of creative thinking process changes drastically, it helped shape mine. Also, Jim Jarmusch films, not the latest one though, not very good. However, his debut film “Permanent Vacation” (1981) made a good impression on how independent films should be made. There are so many! But those are the films during my high school and college times that helped shape my vision.

Only in the 2000’s I realised that I wasn’t skilled enough to be a good director.

You lived in the US for 14 years, how has the combination of the culture affect your way of storytelling?

My vision, in terms of film, generally is more western than eastern
Those 14 years really did help me set up a sound base of filmmaking that I was able to pass on to these young talentsI have to clarify something, although I want to be a filmmaker, I haven’t really made anything since 1997 because since then, I’ve been more of a festival organizer, and then a protech market organizer. Only in the 2000’s I realised that I wasn’t skilled enough to be a good director. So then I tried to create a platform that can help young filmmakers to maybe, fulfil their dreams, and I’ve been doing that since 2001. I did it in Busan for 2 years. But yeah, living in the US for 14 years really shaped my teenage years, so I guess my vision, in terms of film, generally is more western than eastern. Of course, I’ve been assimilating back to eastern culture, but if someone were to ask me in college about my definition of horror films, it would be slasher rather than virgin ghost (female Korean ghost figure). It helped me set up a base for a wider understanding, wider scope of different genres and share a storytelling process that, at the time, may not be available in Asian territories yet. I hope I was able to help these young filmmakers by providing a strong foundation on what to do and what not to do as they navigate within the film industry. Our programs have been quite successful, we’ve been doing it since 2008, and 53 films have been completed throughout. So I hope whatever suggestions I gave, it was powerful for them. To summarise your question, those 14 years really did help me set up a sound base of filmmaking that I was able to pass on to these young talents.

A lot of young, independent films do not see the light of day.

The Korean film industry has been appreciated globally. Examples include the success of “The Wailing” and “Parasite”. What do you think about the development of Korean film industry today? 
They have a 15% window to survive, which is almost impossible. Interesting that you didn’t mention “Train to Busan”, because that’s a really popular one. This discussion can go on for hours and hours, but thank you for the praise. However, I think it’s a bit flawed. Around 65% or 70% of our domestic box office has been dominated by Korean films and recently a lot of Korean films have been successful worldwide, but it’s more so due to the filmmakers than the film production structure. You have to understand, in Korea, the production is dominated by major studios, you have CJ E&M, Showbox and you have Lotte, there’s one more but it’s a bit smaller. Say, 85% of Korean films are produced by those 4, so a lot of young, independent films do not see the light of day. They have a 15% window to survive, which is almost impossible. So when someone says that Korea has a great production model, I don’t know if that’s true or not. It’s Korean and Hollywood blockbusters that runs the box office. 
Compared to other countries, maybe Korea can be seen as a perfect model, but it’s definitely flawed.
I hope KOFIC will focus and share the spotlight more with other directors than those who are famous alreadyKorea makes around 200 films but more than half of those are produced by those studios. So, the other 80 to 100 don’t see the light of day. The only channel they have would be film festivals, the Arthouse network, which owns around 30 theater chains all over Korea that shows independent films. But the problem is, they only have 30, and there are hundreds of new indie titles that come out every year. So, not all of them can get highlighted. Only time they can get recognized is if they win awards or they happen to go to overseas festivals. Then, and only then, they will get picked up by KOFIC’s (Korean Film Council) radar. That doesn’t make much sense. Indie Titles Busan has a platform so there are more chances for non-genre, arthouse films, or documentaries, to get a wider exposure. As an independent filmmaker, it would be very difficult for them to get their film shown. I guess compared to other countries, maybe Korea can be seen as a perfect model, but it’s definitely flawed. I hope there are new people in KOFIC now, they just announced on July 4th, that they will do a film exchange program. I hope they will focus on the independent titles rather than box office directors. Joko Anwar, I think is a great example. He started as an indie filmmaker but is now getting more recognition. I think there are more directors, like Billy Christian or many others. But I hope KOFIC will focus and share the spotlight more with other directors than those who are famous already. 

The model, in terms of structure, is good, but it’s how they’ve been enforced that’s the problem. For example, Hong Sangsoo. He’s an indie auteur, he has been making films since 1995, but the thing is, although he’s independent he’s already recognised globally. When KOFIC says they will give support for indie films, 9 times out of 10, he gets it. It means automatic recognition for foreign or global coverage, they will say “Oh! Hong Sangsoo has a new film out from the support of KOFIC”, and they get the credit. But Hong Sangsoo doesn’t need help, he has a lot of money, he can self generate. He has a team, his own crew for production, PR and what have you. They should be focusing on new, younger talents.

If you have to mention one filmmaker that inspired and influenced you, who would it be? 

Of course Martin Scorsese, or Jim Jarmusch. But if you’re talking in terms of my peers, I will say Joko Anwar, then Erik Matti from Philippines. Joko because I’ve been following his career and since “Kala” days, his debut film. I think he’s fantastic. Erik Matti because I think it’s a very small country where their domestic production does not see the light of day, 99% of their box office is Hollywood. But Erik keeps on going. Investing his own money, a lot of money to make quality films to try to convince the audience that challenge is great. 

From Singapore there is Eric Khoo, he is also one of those directors who single handedly put Singaporean cinema on the world stage. From Korea there’s a Yeon Sang-Ho, the director of “Train to Busan” (2016) who started out as an animator. I met him when he was still starting out, he made an indie animation feature called “The King of Pigs” (2011), you must watch that. Since then, he’s been struggling but continued to create for his own niche, and since the success of  “Train to Busan” he’s in demand by virtually everyone, but he still stays humble because he knows his background and he knows how difficult it was to get to the point of where is right now. From Japan, I’m a fan of Kiyoshi Kurosawa, he makes psychological horror films. But yeah, there are so many! 

Being an independent filmmaker means being in total control of your art

What does being an independent filmmaker mean to you? Is it financial independence where you have the freedom to express your ideas?
Money doesn’t equal a good film, it’s the idea behind it Well the second part I think is actually the true definition of being an independent filmmaker.  You sacrifice the steady financial part, at the same time your have total control of your production, how you want to do it. In my opinion, being an independent filmmaker means being in total control of your art, also the process. It’s more important than, in certain cases, the money. Money doesn’t equal a good film, it’s the idea behind it.

Can I ask you for your perspective regarding BIFAN (Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival) that has become the symbol of Bucheon City as well as the references of the culture combination of animations, cartoons, games, and the changes of films and its creativity?

BIFAN was created back in 1997, I joined BIFAN in 2008. When it was established in 1997, it started because Busan International Film Festival started in 1996, back then Bucheon was known as an industrial city, they made industrial pipes, building materials and things like that. They wanted to change their image from this industrial, tough, rough city to something rich of culture. So they used another example of this town in Japan called Yubari in Hokkaido, it’s a former mining town but closed their mining, so they attracted people by creating a film festival, focusing on the fantasy genre. So the organizers of Bucheon went there to see, and combined the best of both and infuse that idea to BIFAN in ‘97. That spirit of fantasy genre, but still focuses on developing Asian talents, and as I joined I decided to add not only showcase of films, but to nurture young talents, to help make films. Whether it is through education or funding, creating network with other filmmakers, financiers, what have you. That’s the goal of Bucheon city, and I think we’ve been doing that quite successfully, this year is our 23rd.

I’m a true believer that film is like a departure from real life.

Would you prefer to make a movie based on your personal stories and experiences or it was all your imagination and fantasies?

The act of going to the cinema is a representation of people who are tired of their everyday lives, to kind of escape from that and try to enjoy their own sense of hope When I was making films I don’t want to only use my experience, because I’m a true believer that film is like a departure from real life. I know that people will not agree with me nowadays, there are essences of real life circumstances that are infused within it as well. But, film or theater or even the act of going to the cinema is a representation of people who are tired of their everyday lives, to kind of escape from that and try to enjoy their own sense of hope. They want to see a happy ending, they want to see a hopeful message. It doesn’t have to have a happy ending, but a hopeful message. It could be a zombie film and as long as there’s survival or something, the main character can die, but if they made that sacrifice for the greater good, in my opinion that’s a happy ending. My own films were based on that creative notion rather than experiences. 

You have been around Southeast Asia with Viddsee and experienced the different film scenes from many countries. Which one of them resonated with you the most?

“Eerie” is a good example of the quality that’s been produced from Southeast Asia. Well again, there’s so many. You can’t single out any of them. With regards to Viddsee Juree, I have a confession to make, because my background is from fantasy genre. So this is probably my first time since Bucheon days in 2003 or 2004 that I watched a film from non fantasy genre, true to reality based films. It’s a breath of fresh air which is good, and I appreciate their intention behind making these films, whether it’s a documentary, drama, or what have you. 

I’m a jury so I can’t single out anyone here. I think they’re all very well done, but if I could return to the fantasy genre, Joko, Billy Christian and others. Their films are getting recognition in the box office but not just for the bloodiness or gore, but for the actual quality of their filmmaking. There’s a young director called Mikhail Red (Philippines), who did this film called “Eerie” (2018) it’s a horror film, it became the biggest box office film from the Philippines. “Eerie” is a good example of the quality that’s been produced from Southeast Asia. I’m actually looking forward to watch Joko Anwar’s superhero film, “Gundala”, I’ve never heard of an Indonesian superhero film before!

I’ve been interested in a lot Indian films as well, outside of Mumbai and Bollywood, I’ve been drawn to those, they are also pretty exciting. They have a really strong industry in the Tamil region, the southern part. The filmmakers there are very talented. Also, Thailand always had a good formula for their films, romantic comedies, horror films, so many! I’m glad to see the young filmmakers finally being introduced to a much wider platform, no longer just within domestic marketplaces – that’s a good sign. Plus, there are platforms like HBO Asia, Netflix, IFlix and other platforms that can help them do that.

The future is bright for Indonesian cinema

How do you see the Indonesian film scene? Is there a difference with the Korean film scene in terms of cinematography or maybe the storytelling?
Seeing from the more recent films, the Indonesian film industry has advanced greatly.
Well, I’m not an expert in Indonesian cinema, so it won’t be fair to ask me that. But the one thing I’ve seen is that the qualities are very high. I’ll use “Satan’s Slaves” (Pengabdi Setan) one of Joko’s films from 2017 as an example. That film can be translated to any other culture, not just Indonesian or Asian, it can also travel to European and American markets as well. Now you have a concept which has always been there, but you also have a filmmaker who can bring that to a global stage. Upi (Avianto) as well (“30 Hari Mencari Cinta”), I think she made a great introduction in 2012 and 2013. So seeing from the more recent films, the Indonesian film industry has advanced greatly. The future is bright for Indonesian cinema, the Korean studios are heavily invested in Indonesian film industry as well, CJ, Lotte. Hopefully that will help the local talents here to further expose their talents to the global market scene.

The phenomenon of K-Pop is currently booming even into USA. In your opinion, will Korean films have the same possibilities in the future?
You will definitely get more exposure, but to become a global phenomenon? I don’t see that.
No. With regards to Korean films, it can be challenging. Korean dramas are picking up interest in different territories because there’s a certain formula that appeals to housewives, it airs from 8 AM to 11 AM when their husbands are at work and the kids are in school, that’s their target market. That type of family household system is not just for Koreans, but for any family that has a similar structure. So no, it’s not going to have the same cultural impact as K-Pop. The thing about cinema is that there’s a limitation, it’s possible to be further exposed but to create a global box office king like James Cameron’s “Avatar” for Korean films, it would be almost impossible. It’s possible for China though, there are so many people in China alone, if they do 90% of the box office in China, they have the biggest industry almost by default. The number of attendance alone will be much higher than any Korean film. You will definitely get more exposure, but to become a global phenomenon? I don’t see that.

If you look at the film industry in Indonesia, which director from Indonesia do you want to collaborate with?

Of course Joko Anwar and Billy Christian, I’ve known them for a long time and one thing that I appreciate is that they are true to their artistry, they are huge fans of genre titles. That alone is a great thing. I’m not too familiar with the younger people, but there’s a producer, Ifa (Isfansyah) who made a film called “Abracadabra”, they just finished shooting, it’s in post production. There is also a woman filmmaker, I can’t remember her name but she had a wonderful vision, she made a film about Muslim women, I think she used that as a challenge and creative criteria to make an intriguing film.