hair Universe — Jinuk Choi

Hair Universe, 머리카락 우주

3D Animated Short Film, 11min 17sec, 2023

A grieving boy finds the hair of his recently deceased mother caught in the drainage hole during

the shower, and gets swept into the ‘Hair Universe’, an unknown world underneath the bathtub.

엄마와의 사별로 인해 슬픔에 잠긴 한 소년이 샤워를 하다 배수구에 걸려있는 엄마의

머리카락을 발견하게 되고, 욕조 밑 미지의 세계 ‘머리카락 우주’로 떠내려가게 된다.

Director Statement

Despite the fact everyone inevitably faces the death of their loved ones, we are never given the opportunity to prepare to deal with such loss or even think about it properly. When the passing of loved ones occurs unprepared, many feel lost and deal with the pain alone. This film shows how love, death, the pain of loss, and mental anguish are intertwined just like the hair. When we realize such sadness is not ours alone but they ‘connect’ us all, we regain the strength to live.

사랑하는 존재의 죽음은 누구나 언제라도 겪을 수 있는 일이지만, 그에 대해 깊이 생각해 볼 기회는 흔치 않다. 사랑하는 이의 죽음이 예기치 않게 찾아와서 아픔에 무방비 상태로 남게 된다. 이 작품은 사랑, 죽음, 상실의 아픔과 고민을 머리카락처럼 서로 엮어 있고 나의 슬픔이 오롯이 혼자만의 것이 아니라 ‘연결’되어 있음을 느낄 때, 우리는 다시 살아갈 힘을 얻게 된다.

Award

Jury's Special Award, Siggraph Asia 2023, Australia, 2023

Screening

Austin Film Festival, USA (Academy Award Qualifying)

Bucheon International Animation Festival, South Korea (Academy Award Qualifying)

Seattle International Film Festival, USA (Academy Award Qualifying)

Siggraph 2024, USA (Academy Award Qualifying)

Spark Animation Film Festival, Canada (Academy Award Qualifying)

DeadCENTER Film Festival, USA (Academy Award Qualifying)

Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, Canada (Canadian Screen Award Qualifying)

Siggraph Asia 2023, Australia

Jakarta Film Week, Indonesia

Taiwan International Children's Film Festival, Taiwan

JEONJU Cinetour, South Korea

Wiesbaden International Animation Festival, Germany

Insomnia International Animation Film Festival, Russia

Film Specs

Original Title 머리카락 우주

English Title Hair Universe

Type Animation, Short

Genres Family, Fantasy, Drama

Length 11 minutes 17 seconds

Country of Origin Korea, Republic of

Language Korean, English (subtitles)

Formats DCP, ProRes.mov, H264.mp4

Aspect 1.85:1

Audio stereo

Credit

Director / Producer Jinuk Choi

Screen Writer Jinuk Choi, Seoyoung Ahn

Cast Seonhye Jeong, Changwook Kwon

FX Technical Director Hanjin Cho

Music Sungyu Park

Production Design Jinuk Choi

Concept Art Yixin Cheng

Storyboard Jinuk Choi

Animation Supervisor Sooyoung Kim

Animator Jeonghwa Hong, Sangyun Sim, Seonmi Gwak, Yeongseop Hong

Modeling Jinuk Choi

Rigging Suggwon Kim

Look Development Jinuk Choi

Layout Jinuk Choi

Compositing Jinuk Choi

Consultant Shaun Kim

Sound Designer Jusuk Lee

Re-Recording Mixer Ingyeong Lee

Financially Supported by Seoul Business Agency