In his feature debut, THE FIFTH THORACIC VERTEBRA, South Korean filmmaker Park Syeyoung tells the story of mold left behind on a mattress after a couple splits. Structured around a countdown to a mysterious birth, the film follows the life of the mold as it slowly grows into a creature that steals the vertebrae of humans who inhabit the bed. A movie filled with deep longing and even deeper loneliness, it captures the wistfulness of young love lost and the monster of despair that emerges from that sense of abandonment.
THE FIFTH THORACIC VERTEBRA presents a unique monster movie that embraces soft-romanticism and new lifeforms' fuzzy strangeness. Park Syeyoung emerges on the international stage as a talent to be watched, offering a unique and tender perspective about the most important thing; love (and mold).
DIRECTOR/WRITER/EDITOR: Park Syeyoung
PRODUCERS: Park Syeyoung, Park Jihyeon
CAST: Go Woo-jin, Park Jihyeon, Moon Hye-in, Ham Seok-young
LENGTH: 62 min
LANGUAGE: Korean with English Subtitles
COUNTRY: South Korea
GENRE: Horror | Fantasy
ACCOLADES / FESTIVALS:
2022 Singapore International Film Festival | Official Selection
2022 Sitges Film Festival | Official Selection
2022 Fantasia International Film Festival | Special Mention, New Flesh Competition for Best First Feature
2022 Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival | Korean Fantastic Best Director, Korean Fantastic Audience Award, Nonghyup Award
Featured Community Partner: AFS Cinema
