Director Yeon Sang-ho: "Inspired by the evolution of zombies, the bizarre development and mistakes of AI" [Cannes★Interview] ③

*This content was translated by AI.

Director Yeon Sang-ho brings the evolution of zombies to the screen.

Director Yeon Sang-ho held an interview for the film "COLONY" (directed by Yeon Sang-ho) at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, on the afternoon of the 16th (local time), sharing stories related to the work. The film "COLONY" was invited to the Midnight Screening section of the 79th Cannes International Film Festival and met audiences at the Grand Lumière Theater through its official screening the day before, on the 15th.

"COLONY" is a film about isolated survivors inside a building sealed off by an unidentified infectious outbreak, fighting against infected individuals evolving in unpredictable forms. Director Yeon Sang-ho, a regular at Cannes, was invited to the Cannes Film Festival for the fourth time, starting with his first feature-length animation "King of Pigs" (2012, Directors' Fortnight), followed by "Train to Busan" (2016, Midnight Screening), and "Peninsula" (2020, Official Selection). Director Yeon Sang-ho, who has left a strong impression on the global film industry with genre films that add Korean-style zombie elements and original twists, once again demonstrated the prowess of the father of K-zombies through "COLONY."

Director Yeon Sang-ho stated, "When we decided to go to the Cannes Film Festival and the schedule was set, everyone from actress Jeon Ji-hyun to actor Koo Kyo-hwan was somewhat expecting it. It was fun coming on the plane, and we felt like we were going somewhere good with close friends. As we came, I thought internally that we shouldn't attach too much meaning to coming to the Cannes Film Festival, but once we arrived, that didn't work out. Seeing so many people who love movies everywhere, I realized this is the world's top film festival and film festival. It was moving to feel surrounded by people obsessed with movies and to know that such people were waiting to see our film."

This work by Director Yeon Sang-ho tells a story about collective intelligence and the incompleteness of communication. Director Yeon said, "Before conceptualizing the work, I was thinking when AI first started emerging and gaining attention. It was fascinating. I was curious about how it worked and felt that AI's algorithms seemed like a sum of universal thinking. This made me think it was even more amazing, and I began to wonder what humans are. Artificial intelligence has no minority opinions. While thinking about AI and working on 'Hellbound,' I thought it would be worth discussing the direction our society is heading. I thought, 'I could make this story about zombies,' and started with that idea."

In this work, the zombies directed by Yeon Sang-ho evolve. Director Yeon Sang-ho explained, "After setting the story with AI, the rest was somewhat easier. Because the process of AI development feels somewhat bizarre. It reaches the same result as a child learning to become an adult, but through a different way. For example, if you create an image, the face might look fine, but the fingers are strange. Not understanding fingers, as I mentioned earlier, we briefly talked about AI, but once we set that, it became quite easy. Because the process of AI development feels somewhat bizarre. It's a way that is too different from how a child learns to become an adult. Even if the endpoint of the result is the same, the process is very strange. For example, when creating images, fate is involved. The face looks too good, but it can't understand fingers, like this, or that, which is strange. The way deep learning works is fascinating and bizarre. So I thought zombies also evolve and learn, but make mistakes that humans would absolutely never make. I thought that just showing this could be different, and I decided I should convey the message I hold in my heart."

Director Yeon added, "At the beginning, I thought of a kind of cooperation, imagining zombies bound by a kind of collective intelligence. There are zombies bound by collective intelligence, and on the opposite side, there are people who say, 'Let's show our collective intelligence too.' With these two groups, I wanted to show a contrast where one evolves while the other begins to rapidly degenerate. One side evolves at an increasingly fast speed, while the other degenerates in an instant. What remains at the end of that degeneration? I wanted to say it is humanity."

Meanwhile, "COLONY," first unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival, will be released domestically on the 21st.

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*This content was translated by AI.