A local film about the 1948 Jeju Massacre has been invited to the upcoming Sundance Film Festival and International Film Festival Rotterdam, according to its producer Japari Films.

An artistic, black and white work by Jeju-based director O Muel, the film tells the story of a group of some 120 villagers who hid from soldiers in a cave during the 1948 massacre.

The incident resulted in the death of some 30,000 islanders as the government sought to quell an uprising led by a small group of communist insurgents.

The film was premiered at this year’s BIFF in October, and won a total of four awards, including the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema award and the Citizen Critic Award, at the festival. The movie was also screened at this year’s Seoul Independent Film Festival.

Director O was born and grew up on Jeju, and majored in Korean painting at Cheju National University. He later worked in Jeju’s performing arts scene by founding a local theater troupe. Since turning to filmmaking, he has been creating works that depict the unique community culture of the people of Jeju, as well as their distinctive folk customs.

While his previous works “Pong Ddol” (2010) and “Nostalgia” (2009) are rather humorous and even light hearted, “Jiseul” is grim, aesthetically rich and tragic. At BIFF, the film was noted for the exquisite, almost-poetic cinematography, as well as its depiction of the ordinary, simple victims who don’t have a real grasp of what’s going on.

At Sundance, which kicks off on Jan. 17, “Jiseul” will be competing against 13 other works in the World Cinema Dramatic section. Rotterdam, on the other hand, included the film in its non-competition line-up.

The film’s title “Jiseul” means potatoes in Jeju dialect. In the film, it’s the food the villagers share while hiding together in the cave.

The film is scheduled to open in local theaters in March of next year.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)