Hollywood actor-director Maggie Gyllenhaal has made her first-ever visit to Korea, arriving at the 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) with her short film “Flash Impact” and an open love letter to Korean culture.
At a press conference for the film held at the Busan Cinema Center in Haeundae on October 6, the director told reporters she loves “K-pop, K-food, K-beauty — everything,” adding that she ate tteok and other Korean food on the plane and kept eating the moment she landed in Busan, according to Seoul Economic Daily.
“Flash Impact” is a 22-minute short marking the 100th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe’s birth, commissioned by Hyundai’s luxury brand Genesis. Reconstructed through an audition format, it traces Monroe’s life from childhood to global stardom. Gyllenhaal said that while it is Monroe’s story, it is “simultaneously a story about every woman’s experience, and about living as an actor.” Academy Award winner Ellen Burstyn plays the older Monroe, while Dakota Johnson plays the young Monroe.
Gyllenhaal won the screenplay award at the 78th Venice International Film Festival for “The Lost Daughter” and chaired this year’s 83rd Venice jury, where she publicly noted that only one of 21 competition films was solely directed by a woman.
She closed with a wish for audiences to embrace films made through women’s eyes: “Women’s cinema is written in a different language. I hope people learn this new language and feel its joy.”
The film is screening in BIFF’s special screening section.
