ACF - Asian Cinema Fund

2012 Asian Network of Documentary (AND) Fund

LIST Sasang: The Town on Sand (aka. Life Built on Sand)

Synopsis

Once, the Sasang District was the leader of modern industry. And it led the economic development of Korea as well as Busan Metropolitan City. Even today, you can hear the machines running in the factories, but it seems a little far from its old reputation as mainstay of national or local economic development. Life Built on Sand portrays the present-day Sasang District of which the community fell apart and the labor values have withered away. People, who live in this man-made sandy terrain, look trembling and uneasy just like walking on the sands. And yet, they do work hard and sweat. In this society, economic power has become a barometer of happiness. And the people focus too much on economic growth at the expense of social development, just like building a house of cards that could easily fall.

Director's Note

Sasang District (literally meaning district built on the sandy terrain) in Busan Metropolitan City is an region composed of commercial, industrial and residential area that the Nakdong River passes through. Local area environment or working conditions has been neglected. This lack of improvement led the district to fall behind and the local community fell apart at the seams. Labor history and the importance of community have built on workers in the Sasang District, their past and present, and as well as the district’s unique structures and characteristics. I want this film to reflect on the value of labor and the true meaning of community. I also want this film to be a sobering message that the absence of those values will turn the society into nothing but a house of cards.

Festivals

Still Cut

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