'Dora' Director Jung Ju-ri, Reason for Selecting Kim Do-yeon After a Long Audition Process... "Sincere Demeanor" [Cannes★Interview]

*This content was translated by AI.

• Interview with Director Jung Ju-ri, whose film 'Dora' was invited to the Directors' Fortnight at the 79th Cannes Film Festival

Director Jung Ju-ri spoke about the process of casting Kim Do-yeon in the film 'Dora'.

On the afternoon of the 19th, Director Jung Ju-ri held an interview at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, for 'Dora' (directed by Jung Ju-ri), an official selection of the Directors' Fortnight at the 79th Cannes Film Festival.

'Dora' tells the story of Dora (played by Kim Do-yeon), who suffers from an unknown skin disease, and how she begins to feel happiness and love for the first time while living with the couple Nami (played by Sakura Ando) and Yeon-su (played by Song Se-byeok) in the countryside. As a result, their relationships and emotions gradually begin to waver. Director Jung Ju-ri portrays the process of two individuals, both physically and emotionally wounded, becoming entangled in a whirlwind of complex emotions through her signature delicate direction. The film boldly and sensually expresses the primal desires residing within a woman's inner world and the confusion she experiences during that process.

Following her feature debut 'Dohi-ya' (2014, Un Certain Regard) and her second feature 'Next Sohee' (2022, Closing Film of the Critics' Week), Director Jung Ju-ri has now had 'Dora' invited to the Cannes Film Festival, bringing all three of her feature films released over the past 12 years to Cannes. She is the first female director in Korean film history to have all three of her feature films selected for Cannes.

On this day, Director Jung Ju-ri said, "I was curious about how the audience would react after the first screening. I felt that they had watched the film through to the end and were thinking about Dora and Nami. Although making the film was difficult for me, it gave me courage and made me feel supported."

Like her previous works, Director Jung Ju-ri's latest film centers on women and explores female themes, but its atmosphere and narrative approach differ significantly from her earlier films. Responding to comments that it felt "new," Director Jung Ju-ri explained, "I did not work on the film in a different way or change anything. Since I wrote the screenplay, I worried constantly about how to ensure that the initial idea I had would be expressed exactly as I envisioned it during filming and completion. In my view, while the core message of my previous and current works is similar, the stories themselves are different, so I aimed to find expressions that fit each story."

The director added, "One difference is that nature was as important as the characters this time. I put a lot of effort into capturing the living atmosphere of forests and seas, which can be frightening and unpredictable, especially from childhood."

'Dora' is an adaptation that brings Sigmund Freud's 1900 case study of Dora to modern-day Korea. When asked why she chose Freud's Dora, Director Jung Ju-ri stated, "Freud believed that Dora was lying and hiding things from him, never truly listening to her words in their entirety. Because he did not hear her voice completely, the case could not succeed. I created this film with the hope that Dora, who begins in a vulnerable and wounded state, would not remain stuck in that failed case but would instead rise again and fully recover. I want her to be portrayed as someone who has completely healed." The director further shared, "I hope this becomes a clear case study. Rather than searching for femininity in the process, I believe the power that enables this recovery is the love that resides within Dora. Her love for Nami gradually helps Dora recover, eventually enabling her to act with that energy."

Explaining the casting process for the role of Dora, the director said, "After a very long audition process, we finally made the selection. However, the image I initially imagined was completely different. Just by looking at her appearance, I thought of someone weak, small, and visibly vulnerable externally. Of course, there were good actresses who fit that image, but during the auditions, I saw in Kim Do-yeon the image of Dora after she had recovered. She endured the entire process silently, and I felt she had a sincere and steadfast quality. I thought she could express the firm image of Dora at the end."

Director Jung Ju-ri also discussed the casting of Sakura Ando. The director said, "This project has been in development for a long time. Initially, the role of Nami was obviously intended for a Korean actress. However, as we prepared for a long time, I kept feeling that something wasn't quite right, and the biggest issue was Nami. At some point, I wondered how I could possibly fully understand the unfathomable emptiness, loneliness, and sorrow that define Nami. I realized there might be aspects of her that I could never fully grasp. Then I thought, 'What if Nami were Japanese instead?' Before the casting process even concluded, the name 'Sakura Ando' came to mind." She continued, "I told Sakura Ando the same thing: 'I cannot fully understand Nami either. Nami seems to be a character who exists between me and Sakura.' I quickly had the screenplay translated into Japanese and sent it to her. She embraced the entire film so well, and her thoughts on Nami resonated with mine. I was deeply moved during our first meeting. Actually meeting the actress made it feel as though Nami was standing right before my eyes."

Meanwhile, 'Dora', which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, is scheduled for release in South Korea in the second half of this year.

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*This content was translated by AI.