Chapter 50: The Result in Fribourg
The next morning.
When Geonwoo came down to the hotel lobby, Yoon Jihye was already on the phone.
At a table by the window, Taejun and Yura were eating breakfast.
Taejun spotted Geonwoo and raised a hand.
“Hyung. Over here.”
Geonwoo walked over.
“You’re up early.”
“I woke up hungry.”
Yura cut her bread.
“You ate that much yesterday.”
“Yesterday was yesterday. Today is today.”
Geonwoo pulled out an empty chair and sat.
“Looks like Team Leader Yoon is busy from the morning.”
“Seems like it.”
Jihye was having a brief conversation in English at one side of the lobby.
As soon as the call ended, she checked her phone.
Then she approached the table.
“Director.”
“Yes?”
“We have another schedule today.”
Geonwoo put down his coffee.
“What kind?”
“Remember one of the people who gave us a business card after yesterday’s screening?”
“The European distributor?”
“Yes.”
“They want to meet today and talk a little more specifically.”
Taejun looked up while eating.
“Already?”
“Apparently they’re very interested in the film.”
Jihye looked at Geonwoo.
“I scheduled it before lunch.”
“It shouldn’t take long.”
Geonwoo nodded.
“Understood.”
Jihye still didn’t sit.
She looked as though she had more to say.
Geonwoo asked,
“Something else?”
“Yes.”
Jihye checked her phone once.
“NetPlus contacted us too.”
NetPlus.
A global OTT platform serving many countries around the world.
It was also one of the most influential platforms in Korea.
Before coming to Fribourg, they had been discussing the OTT contract for Before the Light Reaches with them.
“What did they say?”
“It seems like they’re monitoring the festival response here in real time.”
Jihye pulled out a chair and sat.
“They want to renegotiate the terms after the Fribourg schedule is over.”
“The terms?”
“Yes.”
“They haven’t officially offered anything yet.”
“But they want to reopen the discussion to include global distribution rights.”
Yura became interested too.
“Then our movie could go on NetPlus overseas too?”
“There’s a good chance.”
Geonwoo thought briefly, then looked at Jihye.
“Let’s wait until the festival ends before making any NetPlus deal.”
“Understood.”
Only then did Jihye drink some water.
“The situation has changed a little from before we came to Fribourg.”
Geonwoo laughed.
“It’s only been two days.”
“Exactly.”
Late that morning.
Geonwoo and Jihye had a short meeting with representatives of the European distributor who had given them their business card the day before.
The other side checked the status of international rights and the possibility of a local theatrical release.
Jihye agreed to organize and send the necessary materials.
They decided to discuss concrete terms again after the festival.
When they left the meeting room, Geonwoo checked the time.
“Let’s head to the theater.”
The second screening passed much faster than the first.
Geonwoo had also become more familiar with the festival’s rhythm.
Afterward, he answered several questions during the Q&A and naturally finished the schedule.
The next few days passed quickly.
The interviews already scheduled continued.
New meetings also appeared after the first screening.
Geonwoo met various directors and industry people around the festival venue.
The number of business cards in Jihye’s bag gradually increased.
Taejun and Yura were busy too.
[Lee Dogyeom: Noona, did you have another interview today?]
[Han Yura: Yeah. Just finished.]
[Han Yura: What about you, Dogyeom?]
[Lee Dogyeom: We finished filming early today!]
[Lee Dogyeom: The director said I did well haha]
[Han Yura: Good job.]
[Han Yura: Make sure you eat and rest.]
Taejun looked over at the screen.
“Dogyeom never sends me replies that long.”
“Treat him better.”
“I treat him well.”
“Shouldn’t we ask Dogyeom that?”
“That’s true.”
Yura chuckled and put the phone in her pocket.
The evening before the awards ceremony.
The International Competition jury gathered again.
Materials for the films still under final discussion covered the table.
Before the Light Reaches was among them.
One juror looked down at a still from the funeral-hall scene.
“At first, I thought this was a story about a girl investigating her younger brother’s death.”
The person across from him nodded.
“So did I.”
“But it wasn’t really a movie about finding the culprit.”
“No.”
“The deeper she went, the more responsibility was spread among many people.”
Another juror pulled a different image forward.
“I liked the neighborhood as a space.”
“The neighborhood?”
“Yes.”
“At first I thought it was only the backdrop where the incident happened.”
“But the closer they get to the truth, the more the responsibility of the people living there is revealed.”
“And at the same time, the place itself is disappearing.”
Another juror nodded.
“I also liked that you can’t say one single person killed the child.”
“Taken individually, each person made a very small choice.”
“But those choices accumulated until a child died.”
The first juror looked down at the materials again.
“And even after the truth is discovered, it doesn’t feel like the problem has been solved.”
“The child is already dead.”
“And the neighborhood is disappearing too.”
The jury chair checked the page with the director’s name.
BAEK GUN-WOO.
“This was his first feature film?”
“Yes.”
“He’s a director who makes me curious about his next movie.”
The next evening.
The awards venue gathered faces Geonwoo had seen throughout the festival.
Geonwoo’s group sat in their assigned seats.
Directors and actors from films invited to the competition were seated toward the front.
The audience filled the seats behind them.
The festival logo filled the large screen onstage.
The ceremony began.
Other awards came first.
Each time a winner’s name was announced, Geonwoo applauded too.
Several prizes passed.
Then the host introduced the next award.
International Competition Jury Prize.
Geonwoo looked toward the stage.
The nominated films appeared one after another on the screen.
Before the Light Reaches was among them.
The host opened the envelope.
Then read the English title.
Geonwoo’s gaze moved toward the screen.
The poster for Before the Light Reaches filled it.
For a brief moment, no one in Geonwoo’s group moved.
Taejun reacted first.
“Hyung!”
Geonwoo looked at him.
Taejun was grinning.
“It’s our movie.”
Yura covered her mouth with both hands.
Then immediately began clapping.
Jihye lightly touched Geonwoo’s arm.
“Director.”
“You need to go up.”
Only then did Geonwoo stand.
Applause continued around him.
Taejun patted him once on the back as he passed.
“Congratulations, hyung.”
Yura smiled too.
“Director, congratulations.”
Geonwoo looked at the two and nodded.
“Thank you.”
He stepped into the aisle and walked toward the stage.
When he climbed the steps, one of the jurors was waiting.
Geonwoo accepted the award.
