Park Chan-wook's 1st Collaboration with Younger Brother

Park Chan-wook (left) and his brother Park Chan-kyong

Star director Park Chan-wook has released a new film entitled "Night Fishing" ("Night Fishing", meaning "Ups and Downs"). The film is a half-hour short shot on an iPhone 4 and a collaboration with his younger brother Chan-kyong.

"I missed making films without pressure of success as I've been making commercial films for some time", Chan-wook said at a press preview in Seoul on Monday. "I was especially delighted to make film with my younger brother".

Chan-kyong said, "Unlike my brother I've never had a real taste of success, so I hope it can be enjoyed by many".

Wireless operator KT, the exclusive distributor of iPhone in Korea, paid for a portion of the US$130,000 production cost of the half-hour film.

Park Chan-wook is famous worldwide, but his younger brother Park is still a novice in the movies. After majoring in painting at Seoul National University and photography at CalArts in the U.S., Park Chan-kyong has been working mainly as a media and installation artist.

"Night Fishing" is not the only film to be made with an iPhone. With sponsorship from KT, 12 film directors including Lee Joon-ik and Jeong Yoon-cheol made short films with the iPhone 4, and in the iPhone 4 Film Festival was held in October last year.

Will audiences be suspicious that the film is just a marketing ploy? "I'm a commercial film director and producer [heading Moho Film], and I've been making films with external funding", Park Chan-wook said. "Although the source of funding and equipment is being highlighted at the moment, I think what matters the most is the film itself. I hope the audience can understand it as a nice pairing of new film capital and artist".

The picture quality is fairly good. Night scenes were shot in black and white to make up for the limitations of the video. Chan-wook said the decision was made "based on the technological limitations and aesthetic judgment".

"Night Fishing" alternates between fantasy -- a fisherman played by Oh Kwang-rok netting the body of shaman dressed in white played by Lee Jung-hyun -- and reality, where Lee performs a ritual for the drowned fisherman. It will be screened in some 10 CGV cinemas on Jan. 27.