BISFF2025｜Correspondence 通信计划047：you have no mother! 你没有母亲！

BISFF Correspondence 通信计划

This program involves conducting brief email interviews with the directors of the international films featured in the festival, in lieu of the traditional Q&A session that follows the screenings. Through this program, we hope to provide a platform for filmmakers to discuss their work and share their insights with our audience in China.

为了跨越种种障碍，开辟更多交流空间，我们设置了“BISFF Correspondence 通信计划”，对部分国际单元的参展作者进行系列访谈，这些访谈将在作品放映后发布在联展各个媒体平台。

you have no mother!｜유 헤브 노 마더!｜你没有母亲！

Yoonseo Lee 李允瑞

2024｜0:12:52｜US, Republic of Korea｜Korean｜Asian Premiere

Director: Yoonseo Lee

Interviewer&Translator: Derek

Coordinator & Editor: Suliko

导演：李允瑞

采访、翻译：仲夏之门

统筹、编辑：苏丽珂

Q1: The film “You Have No Mother!” centers around the idea of a “chosen family” — a self-formed bond among young people that’s been getting a lot of attention in recent years. From your own experiences growing up and studying abroad, what kind of personal insights do you have about this idea? What drew you to explore it as the inspiration for your new project?

A1: The concept of a chosen family was recently brought to my attention, and I was fascinated by the idea that people can create a community that is not necessarily bound by traditional policies such as marriage or adoption. In fact, some countries, including Korea, where I grew up, are still committed to this policy so tightly, and even same-sex marriage is not allowed. Other forms of family are not encouraged or welcomed. I am not specifically talking about same-sex marriage in this film (but some people might also think about it while watching it), but still, I was thinking about a form of family that breaks the norm. Going further from the concept of family, I define a family as members who share a space and a private joke. I have some people in my mind that I want to make a family with, and this even sounds more honest and shocking than wanting to date or marry someone.

Q2: In the film, the three girls take on the roles of a “mother, wife, and a man.” What was the thinking behind establishing that relationship dynamic? The actresses share a similar temperament and appearance, and there’s a constant sense of closeness, teasing, and playful physicality between them. Did they know each other before filming? For scenes where they share a fluid, almost contemporary-dance quality in the way they move around one another, were these spatial relationships and physical rhythms something you had clearly envisioned from the start, or did they emerge more through collaboration and improvisation with the actors on set?

A2: First of all, yes, the actresses knew each other before shooting. I also knew most of them already, so we weren’t feeling that awkward when we all first met for the rehearsal. I didn’t want to assign specific roles to them and put them into the box, so they took the roles freely and explored in their own ways. For the choreographic movements, I asked Cho Yang, who is a choreographer from our school, for help. Since they are not professional dancers, I asked Cho how to approach simple movements that could be done in a trio. I counted numbers to cue their movements, and we did practice several times. I wanted the movement to convey something ritualistic and the energy of moving together.

You Have No Mother!, Yoonseo Lee, 2024

Q3: I noticed a lot of interesting sound samples in the short — birds chirping, bubbling, a dog barking, glass breaking, and even some sounds that are hard to identify. They really add to the mood and tension of the piece. How do you see the role of sound in your work? Were these taken from your usual sound library, or did you collect them especially for this film?

A3: I personally love doing sound design, and of course, I value sound in film generally. Some sounds that you mentioned, such as birds chirping and the ambient background, are from soundly. Other sound effects, such as a weird squishing noise and the water pouring, I did a foley session at the recording studio and played with EQ and reverbs. I also took a sound class at my school, where we learned many different ways to get weird and interesting sounds. For instance, I used optical sound recorded by projecting a film and a tape loop recording that I made in that class.

Q4: There are several dreamlike, rhythmic monologues in the film that focus on bodily details — as if observing the body closely and tracing the emotions that come from that awareness. It feels like this connects to how we negotiate and push against traditional family structures. How do you see the relationship between the body and those ideas? In your everyday creative practice — whether it’s poetry or filmmaking — do you find yourself especially drawn to working with the body as an image or metaphor?

A4: I have always been interested in what role a body plays and the affect theory, which emphasizes that what we see and experience is connected to our body and creates imagery and emotions. Also, showing relationships based on their movements and physical distance, and physical reactions felt crucial. Since acting and performing in front of the camera deal with the body, I think about the body continuously. Additionally, towards the end, there is a scene where one of the actors is covered with blood and slowly walks toward the camera. What I initially planned was to show that there is some sort of a ‘curse’ or a misfortune happening to this family, and they just live off carrying that.

Q5: Visually, the short uses black-and-white film with strong grain, creating a hazy, intimate atmosphere. Was that experimental look something you chose because you’re interested in the boundary between dream and reality? And could you share some artists or filmmakers who have continued to inspire your creative practice?

A5: Yes, I am interested in a dream-like reality. For this film, I was aiming to create a space and a world where we cannot specify the era and the region that they are in, and mix the timeline to imply that everything doesn’t flow logically. I could call this an ‘alternative reality’ where things look similar to our world, but something is slightly off, and we dive in there. Since I love films that dive into a dream-like space, I have to mention David Lynch. However, this might not directly reflect on my film; I also love Hong Sang Soo and Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s works. Their imagery might not influence my visual style, but I am heavily influenced by Hamaguchi since he also works with non-actors, and Hong Sang Soo, where he creates a moment where things seem normal and boring, but something is happening. I am currently editing my thesis, and I tried to mimic Hamaguchi’s method of working with non-actors and building up the characters, and rehearsing with the actors.

You Have No Mother!, Yoonseo Lee, 2024

Q1：《你没有母亲！》（You have no mother! ）这部短片，核心是年轻人自愿结成的“选择的家庭”（chosen family），这也是近些年来颇受关注的一种新型人际关系。您在成长和异国求学的过程中，对此有哪些深刻的感受？是什么促使您将这个题材作为新项目的灵感？

A1： “选择性家庭”这个概念，是我最近才开始关注到的。我被它深深吸引——原来人与人之间可以建立一种不依赖传统制度（如婚姻或收养）的共同体。事实上，包括我从小长大的韩国在内，许多国家至今仍严格遵循这些传统的制度框架，甚至连同性婚姻都不被允许，其他的家庭形式也不被鼓励或接纳。在这部短片中，我并没有特指同性婚姻（虽然观众在观看中可能会联想到），但我确实在思考一种突破既定规范的家庭形式。进一步来说，我对“家庭”的理解是：那些与你共享空间、分享私密玩笑的人。在我心里，其实有一些我希望与之组建“家庭”的对象，这种愿望往往比想与某人约会或结婚更坦诚，也更让人意外。

Q2：片中的三个女孩分饰“母亲、妻子与一个男人”，这种关系设定的背后有何构想？演员们的形象气质看起来都比较接近，也有很多亲密互动、恶作剧般打闹的时刻，她们原本相互认识吗？在一些特定动作跟场景（比如餐桌戏）的编排设计上，您会有清晰的想法和指导，还是倾向于给演员更多即兴发挥的空间？

A2：首先，几位演员在拍摄前确实彼此熟识。我自己也已认识她们中的大部分，所以第一次排练时大家并不觉得尴尬。我不希望提前为她们预设固定的角色框架，将其套进某种既定的身份里，因此她们在进入角色时有相当大的自由度，可以根据自己的理解去进行探索。至于片中那些带有强烈编排感的肢体动作，我请了学校的编舞师Cho Yang 来协助。因为演员们并非专业舞者，我向 Cho 咨询如何设计一些简单、适合三人共同完成的动作。我会通过数拍来提示节奏，我们也反复排练了很多次。我希望这些动作能够传达出某种“仪式性”，以及三个人在同步运动时所产生的能量。

You Have No Mother!, Yoonseo Lee, 2024

Q3：我注意到短片中有很多好玩的声音采样，比如鸟叫、气泡声、狗叫、玻璃碎裂等，还有的不太容易辨识出处，它们的使用为短片增加了情绪张力和质感。您如何看待“声音”这个要素在您作品中的重要性？它们来源于您平时的素材库，还是为了这次拍摄而专门收集的？

A3：我个人非常喜欢做声音设计，也非常重视电影中出现的声音。你提到的一些声音，像鸟鸣和环境声，是来自 Soundly（一个基于云的音效库）的素材。而像那些“古怪的挤压声”或“流水声”，是我在录音棚里通过拟音制作的，并结合 EQ 与混响进行加工。另外，我在学校选修过一门关于声音创作的课，我们学习了各种方式来获取怪异、有趣的声音。例如，这部片子里我使用了通过胶片投影而产生的光学音效，还加入了我在课堂上制作的磁带循环录音（tape loop recording）。

Q4：影片中一些带有强烈画面感、韵律感的呓语式独白，展现了身体和外貌的细节特征，仿佛在暗示对身体细致的观察，和由此产生出的各种复杂情绪，也是我们和传统家庭对抗、拉扯所必经的一部分。您如何看待这二者之间的关系？在日常的创作（诗歌、影像等等）中，您会格外关注和运用身体的意象吗？

A4：我一直对“身体”在影像中的作用，以及情动理论（affect theory）深感兴趣，它们强调观者的视觉与经验总是通过身体被感知、被触发，从而生成情绪与意象。在创作中，通过身体的移动方式、彼此之间的距离，以及各种细微的身体反应去呈现人物关系，对我来说至关重要。毕竟，表演与镜头前的呈现都是关于身体的实践，我几乎是在不断思考身体如何在影像中运作、发声。

另外，在影片临近结尾处，有个场景是其中一位演员浑身是血，缓慢走向镜头。我最初的构想是：这个家庭似乎遭遇了某种“诅咒”或噩运，她们（作为家庭成员）只能默默背负并承受这一切。

Q5：在视觉上，这支短片运用了黑白、胶片摄影，很多画面带有强烈的颗粒感，营造出一种朦胧和亲近的氛围。选择这种实验性的效果，是否因为您喜欢关注做梦与现实之间的界限？能否跟我们分享下在您的实践经验中，哪些创作者给了您持续的思考和启发？

A5：是的，我对“梦境般的现实”非常着迷。在这部短片中，我试图创造一个在时代、地域上没有明确归属的空间/世界，并通过打乱时间线，来暗示并非一切事物的流动、发展都遵循逻辑。我将其称作一种“另类现实”——看起来与我们的世界相似，但又略有偏离，而我们会不自觉地沉浸在其中。既然我偏爱那些能带领观众进入梦境般空间的电影，就不得不提到大卫·林奇。不过，对他的喜好或许并未直接反映在我的短片中。我也很喜欢洪尚秀和滨口龙介的作品，他们的影像或许不会直接塑造我的视觉审美，但我深受他们的创作方法影响，比如滨口龙介也喜欢跟素人演员合作，又比如洪尚秀擅长刻画看似平淡、无聊却又暗藏玄机的瞬间。目前，我正在剪辑自己的毕业作品，并尝试模仿滨口龙介的方法，即与素人演员合作、塑造角色、一块儿排练。

▌more information: https://www.bisff.co/selection/you-have-no-mother