[Comprehensive] Denis Dercourt "An Era Where Korean Content Is Desired Worldwide, Communicating Through Film"

French-Korean Co-production 'Vanishing: Cold Case'
Starring Yoo Yeon-seok and Olga Kurylenko
French Crew, Entirely Filmed in Korea
"Our Language is Cinema"

Photo by Busan International Film Festival Secretariat

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Isul] "Right now, the whole world likes and desires Korea, and it is becoming a kind of model. Participating in the Korea-France joint project was an unbelievably great opportunity."

French director Denis Dercourt stated this during the live conference for the film Vanishing: The Case of Unidentified Death held on the 8th, saying, "When I was offered to direct, I accepted immediately without a second thought."

Opening on the 30th, Vanishing: The Case of Unidentified Death is a suspense crime thriller about an unidentified corpse that shakes South Korea to its core. Detective Jinho (Yoo Yeon-seok), who is in charge of the case, and international forensic scientist Alice (Olga Kurylenko) collaborate in the investigation, confronting the shocking truth behind the incident.

This is a global project co-produced by director Denis Dercourt, who was twice nominated for the Cannes International Film Festival's "Un Certain Regard," and domestic and international production teams.

Director Denis Dercourt said, "I adapted the screenplay into a Korean crime thriller and completed the script. As a French director, it is an honor to make a Korean film, and although I am a foreigner, it was important to blend Korean culture well into the story."

Referring to domestic works such as The Chaser (2008) and Memories of Murder (2003) as references during the scriptwriting process, the director added, "I wanted to create characters that all audiences worldwide could relate to. I hoped they would not be stereotypical, focusing on motives and psychological elements while working with specific traits."

Photo by Studio Santa Claus

The film was completed entirely through domestic location shooting. The director said, "Although it is a global project, I worked with the awareness that many Korean audiences would watch it. If we had filmed in France, it would have been near Paris, which might have seemed clich?."

Yoo Yeon-seok plays elite detective Jinho, who investigates the case of the unidentified corpse, and Olga Kurylenko, known for her role as a Bond girl in 007 Quantum of Solace, portrays international forensic scientist Alice.

Director Denis Dercourt said, "I was moved working with Korea's top actors. They came well-prepared on set and acted freely, sometimes offering personal opinions. We worked comfortably in a fun atmosphere with jokes exchanged."

He added, "Although we used different languages, we had the common language of film. We communicated well through the movie."

Yoo Yeon-seok laughed, saying, "I delivered lines in Korean, English, and French. Sometimes I ad-libbed in French, so every time I went to the set, the script had more French lines. Occasionally, English lines were changed as well."

He continued, "After Parasite, Minari, and Squid Game, K-content has been receiving great love. As works filmed in Korea gain worldwide popularity, I hope our project, filmed domestically with overseas staff, will also be loved a lot."