David Seok Hoon Boo of Interface Pictures: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker

Being a filmmaker also means becoming a business person. This applies to indie filmmaking where/when you have to not only just make the film but be prepared to put your film out there as well. A lot of my films still rest in peace in my hard drive, not seeing the light of day. You really have to get ready for the full course here. When you start writing a script, you basically have to get ready for packaging your own DVD to ship it out. Same importance which I picked up quite late in my career.

As a part of our series called “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing David Seok Hoon Boo.

David Boo is a second-generation Korean American born in the U.S. He has an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. David is a founding member of the Bay Area Film Collective which mission is to foster independent film projects in San Francisco and Bay Area. He is currently a Director and Writer for Interface Pictures.

His movie “Junho” recently won three awards: “Best Director,” “Best Foreign Language Feature,” and “Audience Choice Feature” at the Orlando Film Festival 2021.

He has written and produced several short films, including “The Market Between Us,” was an official selection at the Another Hole in the Head Film Festival in San Francisco in 2018 (won the Anne Bremer 1st Prize, Best of SFAI MFA Exhibition 2019).

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit of the ‘backstory’ of how you grew up?

I was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1987. My dad was getting his Ph.D. at the time. I moved to Korea when I was a year old, mostly grew up in Korea. There was some going back and forth between the US and Korea, but mainly Korea.

It was when I finished high school, that’s when I came back to the States to start studying my first undergraduate study at Georgia Tech as an ME major, the same study and same school my father studied. It just felt natural, and at the same time, I never gave any serious thoughts on what I wanted to do nor what I would become. I just kind of went with the flow until I decided to stop and really ponder “who I am” or “what do I want?”

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

When I was thinking about what I wanted to do with my life during my early 20s, I was also not doing much, doing part-time work every now and then, I was watching a lot of movies during my downtime. I was always a huge moviegoer but never took it seriously.

As I had more time on my hands to see more movies, my selections moved on from the more popular and recent films to ones going back to the early 90s, and sometimes 80s. During 2003–2005 I was lucky enough to encounter movies made by Fincher, Terry Gilliam, Scorsese, and many more, which were all just fascinating stuff to me at the time. I loved the mainstream movies of my time but these so-called classics gave me something more.

There were always my favorite Korean films. Now international icon Bong of course but my personal favorite has always been Seung-wan Ryoo.

These movies, altogether, wanted me to try making films. A very vague idea that scared me. I was far from being creative or artistic, but I really wanted to give it a try. At the time, I was also a bit exhausted living by myself, so I decided to go back to Korea and give it a fresh start at Dongguk University in Korea as a film major. That’s when it all started to take off.

Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your filmmaking career?

I was the first assistant director (AD) for an indie road movie in Korea. One of the main actors was a kid maybe seven years old. The kid had a lot of digestion issues, and we would pause filming so many times because the kid had to go and try to take a load off. A lot of the locations were out in the middle of nowhere. All the cast and crew had to wait so many hours for the kid to find a toilet, get successful and hopefully come back before sundown. The production went through three more days of shooting just because the kid needed a toilet so many times.

It was painful to wait in the sun without shade with the heat torturing us but I find it quite funny now. All those awkward moments of waiting. Praying for the kid to take clean shit.

Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?

This is something that happened very recently. While I was at the 3rd Gangneung International Film Festival in Korea for my first screening of “Junho,” I wasn’t nervous at all until I saw the Director Tae-yong Kim walking into the theater lobby. He was on the jury for the international competition program but I wasn’t expecting him to be at the screening, in person.

Tae-yong Kim who directed “Memento Mori” (1999), “Family Ties” (2006), “Late Autumn” (2010), and many more is such an iconic figure in Korean cinema, who I admired for years. I approached him to thank him for being at the screening and was really surprised how much Tae-yong Kim really wanted to congratulate me and the cast and crew who made it there. Also, after knowing “Junho’s” screening happened that night being the very first screening in Korea and in my career, Kim really showed so much heart. You just know it when someone really, really, means for certain things. And after encountering many sassy and cocky well-established directors in the past who don’t care much for other up-and-coming filmmakers, the moment with Kim made a huge mark.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

The director of the very first film that I was part of, Jeong-jae Hyun. My mentor from day one of filmmaking, and to this day now. Jeong-jae not only helped me grow as a better filmmaker but just made me a better human being from my early 20s to today in my 30s.

I would always remember what it was like to feel a sense of confidence. It was one night out with the film crew, the one Jeong-jae was directing, there were first-timers as production assistants (PAs) including myself, Jeong-jae asked us, “Do you think you have what it takes to be a good filmmaker?” One girl, who was super confident, immediately said yes, shared her ambition. The other girl said she thinks she’s got the talent but needs some work. Me on the other hand, I was not confident at all. I had very low self-esteem as an artist. In my mind, even if I started trying, it felt like I was far off from being a “creative person.”

So, I told the crew that I’m not sure. I don’t think I have anything at the moment to become who I want to be in the future. But I’ll try my best to get there.

Jeong-jae, who had 10 years of indie-filmmaking experience at the time, respected all of our own assessments, but he wanted the beginners to know that the moment we started “doing” it (filmmaking), proves that any of us has at least 50% of what it takes. The idea behind that saying is that is so many people think of doing this or doing that, but very few people actually choose to go down a certain road that is not within the spectrum of the ordinary. In essence, Jeong-jae wanted me (and the girls) to know to never ever doubt ourselves when it comes to”’talent.” It’ll be a hell of a work to fill that rest of the 50% or more going down the road, but whoever’s actually doing it has what it takes, so it’ll be a waste of time to self-doubt.

That night shaped my idea of what talent is, and made my mantra as a filmmaker. This has been the main engine for me and I believe it’ll keep on being my main boost till the day I stop.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

The story I shared above expresses this.

I am very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

#1. It just represents more of the actual world we live in. A lot of cultures are now mixed, we’re all in this melting pot together. It does not make sense logically to avoid diversity.

#2. More getting specific into visual media, embracing a bigger group of audience and not leaving anyone behind.

#3. Lastly, better representation and more diversity is such a great tool to understand who is not “me/us.” Same as any other medium throughout history, we can’t have access to hands-on experience with everything, given the limited time we get in life. But with diversity and proper representation, you see the world. Isn’t that just spectacular?

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I’ve been developing two projects recently.

One is, showing a mixed culture in one environment. Think of LA, how adjacent Koreatown and South Central LA is, you put two entirely different cultures like that, there’s going to be conflict. But through that conflict and violence like the year in ’92, I want to show something that wanted to grow among the burning buildings, such as friendship. Like one guy said a while ago, the moment of just “Getting along.”

Second, I would like to bridge the gap between two very different cultures, geologically miles apart, quite like my first feature “Junho.” An Asian boxing champion in Korea, flying out to Las Vegas for the World Championship, fighting the U.S. Champion in the 70s. Which is based on a true story. Not just a regular boxing match, but a boxing match resulting in three deaths and one man carrying the guilt for decades. Alas, after years and years, a moment of healing will happen by two different cultures facing one another, putting aside the differences. Still don’t know each other fully but breaking bread is good enough to move on from the past.

Which aspect of your work makes you most proud? Can you explain or give a story?

I’m going to have to go with “Junho.” Such a special film to me. It’s the first feature for me, and so many hurdles along the way from development to finishing it.

So much negative reception surrounded this project from the beginning but just the people who supported and suffered through the same thing, really made a new family to me.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

1. Being a filmmaker also means becoming a business person.

This applies to indie filmmaking where/when you have to not only just make the film but be prepared to put your film out there as well. A lot of my films still rest in peace in my hard drive, not seeing the light of day. You really have to get ready for the full course here. When you start writing a script, you basically have to get ready for packaging your own DVD to ship it out. Same importance which I picked up quite late in my career.

2. Know the market.

I really wish that more people knew about the market and what kind of beast it is while I was in film school. Which market you’d go directly relates to what kind of film you’ll be making. Also, a very good way to find out if this is the right career path for you.

3. Concept of right and wrong constantly changes.

Which will apply to almost anything but things always change and I do wish I was much more versatile and flexible on many things in the past.

4. 90% of your co-workers are going to quit at some point.

Sad but true. I lost a lot of colleagues over the course of 11 years or so. A lot of them were way more talented than I am. Shows how hard it is to just keep on going.

5. Don’t try to prove others wrong.

I fought so much trying to prove someone else when all I had to focus on was myself. Make sure I’m convinced of what I’m doing.

When you create a film, which stakeholders have the greatest impact on the artistic and cinematic choices you make? Is it the viewers, the critics, the financiers, or your own personal artistic vision? Can you share a story with us or give an example about what you mean?

So far, artistic vision, but I would say this because I’ve been an indie filmmaker. Whenever I’m making an indie film, I’ll always stick to my artistic vision as the only stakeholder. The definition of “Indie” means you should be independent of capital, so easy to just abide by my own vision.

If someone is investing money and I’m in a position to be responsible for profit, artistic vision will still play a huge role but definitely should not be bigger than the financiers. This could sound brutal, but isn’t it the same thing anywhere when you work as an employee? Creative work sometimes plays within very interesting boundaries, but I wouldn’t forget the fact that there is more to answer when it comes to creating films in a “not indie environment.”

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

Artist First.

Not business, not the market, not the festivals, not even the film, but always Artists(Filmmakers) first!

In my dream world :)

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this. :-)

Coen Brothers. I admire their work so much and would love to hear how they would see the world of cinema today. It would be an honor to think about what we should do for the future as in terms of filmmaking. But ideally not breakfast. Dinner for sure. I don’t like waking up early in the morning.

How can our readers further follow you online?

I don’t necessarily promote myself but promote the work that I put out there.

So please do follow -

junhothemovie.com

@junhothemovie both IG and FB

“Junho” is presented by Interface Pictures which I am a part of. Anything that comes next, you’ll hear through Interface Pictures and the course of “Junho.”

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!