Maltese film-maker FRANCO RIZZO speaks with Lara Zammit about his series of short films telling stories from the South Korean city of Seoul

Seoul Stories is a quiet mediation on the South Korean city of Seoul by Maltese film-maker Franco Rizzo in a series spanning different genres and filmmaking styles to tell different stories about the multilayered city. One of Rizzo’s shorts, #seoulsearching, is currently one of the 450 short features being shown at the 20th Gwanghwamun International Short Film Festival, taking place online until June 30.

#seoulsearching poster. Photo: Franco Rizzo

“The series came about because, first and foremost, I wanted to challenge myself as a film-maker to keep perfecting my craft and pushing my limits,” explains Rizzo, speaking to Times of Malta.

Although he was at first hesitant to create yet more material about Seoul on YouTube, where the series is aired, Rizzo says he knew he could offer something more.

“I asked myself, how can I give a different nuanced perspective of Seoul and the people living in it, be they Korean or foreigner? How can I do this away from the simple sit-down, face-the-camera interview set-up?

“Seoul has transformed me. It is cutting edge, dynamic, energetic, it just pushes you forward. It is a city full of rather stark contrasts. The new mixes with the old, at once in opposition and in harmony with each other.”

Asked whether his Seoul Stories are essentially human ones, Rizzo says that, now more than ever, it is crucial to put the focus squarely back on the human experience rather than the manufactured, constructed ones we are bombarded with daily on social media.

“We are humans first,” he says, “not viewers and subscribers.”

The human experience is exemplified in Rizzo’s use of voice and text, which he says are essential components for him, primarily in contrast with the visuals.

“In the very first episode of the series, I wanted the audience to assume the employee in the piece is Spanish, only to reveal they’re actually Korean. Carola, the protagonist, lived most of her life with her family in Argentina.

“In the very last episode, the contrast is more subtle, almost personal – the subject is female, Korean, speaking Korean, but the one shooting is male, Maltese, quietly observing, and therein lies the conversation. Not to mention Taeyoung’s skill in repairing her own motorcycles – something still relatively considered as male-oriented, which of course, doesn’t have to be – creates further disruption,” he explains.

Speaking about his work #seoulsearching currently being featured at the 20th Gwanghwamun International Short Film Festival, Rizzo exclaims that he and his team were extremely happy when they received word, especially his co-writer and friend Katrina Angeles Noble.

Still from an episode of ‘Seoul Stories’. Photo: Franco Rizzo

“The cast and crew consisted of five persons in total – four, including myself, in Korea, and one in the Philippines.

“Despite our extremely limited resources, being selected means we have offered something worthy in terms of story, and unique too! It’s not often you’ll hear of a movie directed and edited by a Maltese guy in Seoul, with Korean and Filipina actresses, with virtually no English dialogue whatsoever.”

The aim with Seoul Stories is putting characters from different cultural backgrounds in juxtaposition

Speaking about his current endeavours, Rizzo says he is in the pre-production stages of shooting a short film featuring Maltese dialogue in contrast with Seoul’s cityscape.

Malta and Korea appear to be worlds apart, seemingly on all planes. We can catch a glimpse of the connection between these two disparate worlds in the music video of Brikkuni’s Fomm ir-Riħ, which Rizzo filmed and edited, shot on location in South Korea in 2020.

Still from an episode of ‘Seoul Stories’. Photo: Franco Rizzo

Asked how he envisions Maltese dialogue and Seoul’s cityscape to engage with one another, Rizzo says that his aim with Seoul Stories is always putting characters from different cultural backgrounds in juxtaposition to one another, in order for these characters to find some kind of universal truth.

“I guess you could say Seoul Stories is an extension of Fomm ir-Riħ, in a way. The next short film I’m working on – working title Night Owl – follows a Maltese expat on his very last night in Seoul.

“In the first scene, we establish, through a phone call with a friend in Malta, that he is extremely hesitant to return home. He is anxious, uncertain of his future back in Malta – can he even call it home anymore?

“This will all boil down to a crucial decision he has to make by the end of the short movie. Nevertheless, his journey will be that of coming to terms with himself, his fears and anxieties. It will feature the songs Mill-Ġdid by Djun and Għix fil-Preżent by 1905.”

Still from the music video to Brikkuni’s 'Fomm ir-Riħ', filmed and directed by Franco Rizzo.

While still in the writing stage, Rizzo says his aim is to cushion the discussion of deep themes with a healthy dose of playfulness and self-deprecation, saying he intends to explore what it means to be a Maltese and a Korean in the 21st century, while also not letting the task take itself too seriously.

“At the end of the day, I am looking to just enjoy the process of making an even more ambitious short than #seoulsearching.”

Rizzo says he would be pleased if through this project he could create a platform where Maltese talent could be featured on a larger scale, and also get the support it truly deserves.

“We had 22 foreign productions filming in Malta in 2021, and the Malta Film Commission bent over backwards to accommodate them, while local productions were mostly left to their own devices. How is this fair?” he asks.

“I may be just a very passionate individual right now, but I’m ready to give that much-needed jolt we’ve all been craving once I get successful enough to do so, even if I have to skip some steps. I’m putting my frustration into good use by focusing on just that.

“The journey until now was difficult enough not just for me, but all of us who identify as Maltese film-makers. The time to level up is right now, and we can only achieve better by believing that we deserve better,” he concludes.   

See more Seoul Stories here. Visit Franco Rizzo’s crowdfunding page for his upcoming production here.