| From left, producer Ahn Sung-han, hosts Noh Hong-chul, Moon So-ri and Yoon Jong-shin, and directors Cho Hyun-chul, Hong Seok-jae, Joo Dong-min, Kim Cho-hee, Kim Sun, Kim Gok, Yoon Sung-ho, and Kwak Kyung-taek pose during a press conference for Tving's new show, "All Viewers+: Short Buster," Tuesday. Courtesy of Tving |
By Lee Gyu-lee
Eight famous directors have teamed up to present their short films under one theme with Tving's new original show, "All Viewers+: Short Buster," set to hit the platform, Thursday. "This series is a collaboration of a film and a reality show that shows eight short films and follows the production process of each film," the show's producer, Ahn Sung-han, said during a press conference for the show, Tuesday.
The show is a subsequent season of the 2017 JTBC show, "Rated G," which invited 10 filmmakers like Park Gwang-hyun to make separate short films on any social topic.
The new season will have eight films, following the central theme of the "parallel universe," touching on different topics, such as the new normal dystopia and the contactless society of the pandemic era. It invites directors Kwak Kyung-taek of the action film, "Friend" (2001), Kim Gok and Kim Sun of the thriller series, "Voice" (2017), Joo Dong-min of the crime drama series, "The Penthouse: War in Life" (2020), Yoon Sung-ho of the sitcom, "Political Fever" (2021), Hong Seok-jae of the mystery film, "Socialphobia" (2014), Kim Cho-hee of the romance film, "Lucky Chan-Sil" (2019), actor and director Ryu Deok-hwan, and independent film director duo Cho Hyun-chul and Lee Tae-an.
Actress Moon So-ri, singer-songwriter Yoon Jong-shin, and comedian Noh Hong-chul will be the hosts and act as the producers of the short films, providing commentary and feedback.
Ahn said that unlike the first season, which only invited film directors, this season will have directors of TV series to add more variety to the show.
"As we are making eight films under one theme, I wanted each of the directors to have their own style. So we tried to have directors from different fields, like commercials or independent films, short films and dramas," Ahn said. "As we anticipated, when we saw the outcome, each film had its own color so it will be interesting to watch."
Moon said the show will open up an opportunity for viewers to experience various genre films that touch on different issues.
"Watching these eight films has given me a lot to think about. The number of platforms has increased and so have our options. But I've been questioning if the films and dramas on those platforms have become diverse in terms of their colors as well," she said.
"Big-budget films, most of the time, don't capture the uniqueness of the director or their perspective. But with short films, those were clearly portrayed … People will be able to have a new experience of watching a film as they pick up the underlying intent (of the directors). I believe that it will contribute greatly to verifying our options (for content)."
Director Joo, who led all three seasons of the hit SBS series "The Penthouse," has taken the first stab at film directing with the show.
"This piece intends to offer a sense of comfort in my own way to those suffering amid COVID-19," he said. "Since I've worked on long series, making a short, 20-minute film was really difficult. So I just decided to make it even shorter into a collection of short episodes under one message."
"All Viewers+: Short Buster" will release one episode on Tving every Thursday.