Tea time with Incomplete Woman

Interview with Su-young Huh, director of Incomplete Woman

What a highly unusual premise. Are any parts autobiographical?
I started to write this story because of a sense of shame I felt when making artwork. I knew that I should keep trying hard (following the example of all the outstanding, skilled people I have met) but I found myself unable to do so, and I felt disappointment and fell into a state of lethargy. Incomplete Woman was born as a reminder to myself that “you don’t need to be hard pressed to do it”.

Why did you choose to tell it in this highly surreal way?
It is a little bit gloomy, but I used to imagine that I vanished from the world, shattering into ashes. Then memories about lasting things in life would appear, and the shattering would stop in my imagination. I simply made the film using these kinds of emotions, just like the body remains split, not vanishing completely in Incomplete Woman.

Can you tell us more about your animation style?
I love the animation world, in which everything strange and weird is considered normal. In Incomplete Woman, nobody finds it strange to see split body parts move alive, and they just treat them as runaway girls. I like using premises that can make the audience focus on the story inside their minds, not wasting time persuading others to believe in my story.

Is it exemplary of the tone and style of the rest of your work? What else do you like to work on?
I am not sure about directing other works because I have not made many works yet. But simply, I would like to keep making things sincerely, regardless of the genre – live-action films, animation, writing, drawing.  These are all things that are part of my life.

What do you think the future holds for short films?
I think predicting the future is beyond my capacity. Living for today is hard enough for me.

If we were to go back into lockdown, what cultural or artistic delights would you recommend to alleviate our boredom?
We need to keep focusing on good movies and good written work.

Incomplete Woman is part of International Competition I14.