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15th DMZ Docs(2023)

I AM DOCU



Across the Border

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LEE Kangsun

  • Korea
  • 2022
  • 17min
  • 12 +
  • DCP
  • color/black and white

Korean Premiere

Synopsis

Across the Border tells the story of a photographer's journey to leave Earth in a fictional future. Set during a period of tension between the tangible world of 2022 and the virtual realm of 2522, this narrative delves into the accounts of those who strive to leave and those who are prevented by circumstance from doing so.​

Review

 This SF essay explores the near-future of the digital virtual world where the mnemonic power of analog photographs, which guarantees indexicality, is no longer effective. It unfolds under the theme of "migration," where memories are erased in the digital world to enable happiness. The issue of migration poses the question of whether erasing historical, political realities, and identities is a prerequisite for integration into a new society. On the other hand, the film understands photography as a medium that can only prove the past exists alongside the acknowledgment that there was a certain reality. It raises questions about the validity and trustworthiness of photographs as a means to remember a reality that has turned into the past. In the context of Across the Border, the problem of memory being invalidated is crossed with the problem of photographs losing their validity and trustworthiness. The film attempts to critique 21st-century culture by intersecting these two cases of memory denial within a virtual drama. 

Director

  • LEE Kangsun

    Lee's creative focus lies at the intersection of fiction and non-fiction, utilizing photographs as his chosen medium. Additionally, Lee harbors an interest in the contemporary society's dynamics of data and physical body migration. Through his work, Lee probes into the gaps existing between memories and images, as well as the potential of images to address these gaps. Across the Border is Lee's debut as a documentary director.

Credit