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Q: Did you have any unusual difficulties during filming?
You could say it has been a long project; the process of making
the movie, of preparing and guiding its production, took a little
over 10 years. However, once I resolved to actually make a movie, I
found that the work flowed along very quickly, and I'm thankful for
the spontaneous help many people gave us. Q: Will winning
awards help promote the film? How so?
Yes. The media in my home, Korea, have taken interest and have
already reported on the award(s), and distributors have been
contacting us from the United States, as well. Q: How much
money did it cost?
Production and marketing costs came to about $200,000. Q:
How did you finance that?
I invested my own funds at first. We were able to finish the
movie well, though, thanks to support from Brain Education centers
around the world that wanted to take part in the project.
 Q:
Where were the locations?
The main filming location was Sedona, Arizona, and we also
filmed around the world, including in Japan and Korea, and in major
American cities like Chicago, New York, and LA. Q: To what
audience is Change suited?
We could say anyone who wants change. Those who have been
wanting to change something about their lives but have not known
where to begin, I think, might find this movie helpful. Q: Any
bites yet from distributors?
We're constantly being contacted by Korean, American, and
Japanese distributors, and we're discussing details with several of
them. Q: What was it like working with various sources? How did
you go about choosing who to interview?
People who have befriended me as I have taught Korean forms of
meditation and Brain Education worldwide over the last 30 years have
sympathized and worked with me on the concept of Change, and the
concept of LifeParticles, which are the source of all things.
Q: What has the feedback been so far?
Many people have sympathized with the message of the film, and
writers, spiritual leaders, and movie professionals have also given
me written recommendations. Some of those who have really
sympathized with its message are holding small screenings in their
homes, schools, meditation circles, and community centers, sharing
the movie's message. It's my first movie, of course, so I think
there will be a lot I should improve. I'd like to think viewers and
my partners, who are supporting and actively telling others about
the movie despite its shortcomings. Q: Are you working on any
new projects?
I wrote a book, Change, to discuss more broadly and in greater
depth the messages addressed by the movie, and I have opened and am
operating a website, www.changeyourenergy.com, to help people who've
seen Change easily change their own energy in their daily lives.
We're now planning a sequel to Change.
 Q:
Tell us about your own background. Where you were born? Where did
you study film? What was your first movie? What was your previous
job? Are you a full-time filmmaker?
I am not a professional filmmaker. In the world they call me a
"visionary," and a "spiritual leader," and even a "Quixotic
eccentric." I have always thought of myself as an educator.
I was born in Cheonan, Korea. From when I was very young, I
repeatedly wandered in search of an answer to the question, Who am
I, and I was unable to adapt properly to school due to attention
deficit disorder. Instead I immersed myself in martial arts and
exercise, and have continued my internal exploration.
I graduated from college, worked as a clinical laboratory technician
at hospitals and government offices, and I even ran ran a private
clinic. Everything felt meaningless, though, because I had failed to
find a fundamental answer to questions concerning the reason for my
existence. At the end of continuous contemplation and meditation, I
made up my mind, and I obtained great spiritual realization through
21 days of intense meditative practice on Mt. Moak in Korea. The
realization I obtained at the time was that a great power to
fundamentally change ourselves and the world exists within each of
us.
In the 30 years since then, I have lived to tell the world about my
realization. To make this known, I've developed diverse mind-body
training methods and self-development programs, including Brain
Education; I've opened Brain Education centers, which have now
spread to over a thousand locations worldwide; I have written books,
established schools, and created many non-profit corporations.
I came to have interest in the medium of film because of its
popularity. Through the popular medium of film, I wanted to
communicate with many people about the nature of the changes we
truly want, and about what we should do to realize those changes and
how we should do it. Q: what was your first award? And how did
you feel at that time?
This (red: The International Film Festival for Spirituality,
Religion, and Visionary) is the first time I've received an award
for a film. How do I feel on receiving my first award? Great!
Q: What was the best part of the project?
After making the movie, we held 30-some screenings in major
American cities this summer and early autumn. We told people about
the movie as we went around to major cities, including New York,
Washington DC, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Seattle. Over 10,000 people
saw the movie. When several scenes from the film moved the hearts of
viewers and created great sympathetic energy, everyone at the
screening, including me, could feel it, too. When I see the eyes of
viewers filled with hope and passion for change, when I confirm that
my movie awakens the best in the human spirit, I think, It was good
that I made this film. Q: Are you pleased with the overall
outcome?
It's like I said before. I feel greatly rewarded when I see
people respond to the message of change I want to share through this
movie, when they attempt something, even something small, to create
new change, and when they learn and grow through that. Q: What
are your hopes and dreams for the film?
I hope as many people as possible will see this movie, and will
truly achieve change in their lives. Many people are dreaming of
change. An awakening is happening all over the globe, one which
realizes that human civilization itself, as well as individual
lifestyles, must change in a healthier, more balanced, and
sustainable direction. People aren't really sure, though, where to
find the beginnings of such change. This movie says that all change
starts with the choices of individuals. I hope that many will watch
this movie, rediscover the great, simple truth that they are the
protagonists of change, and choose change right now. It is my hope
and dream that, through this, our society and planet will become
healthier, happier, and more peaceful. Q: How long did it take
to complete the film?
Coming up with the idea took about a decade, but actual
production took one year. Planning and preparations took six months,
actual filming two months, and editing four months. Q: Will you
do a sequel?
Yes. Even when I first did the planning, I thought that many
sequels could come out based on the change concept, and I planned
for it. I have many different ideas for this, although they're not
yet clearly organized, and I am continuously brainstorming and
meditating about it. Q: How do you feel to have won awards in
IFFSRV 2013?
I was excited since this is the first work I've done for which I
received an award overseas. I think it really fits the main concept
of Change, especially since this is a film festival whose theme
definitely addresses spirituality, religion, and the future.
 Q:
Why is this subject important to you?
For the last 30 years, I've been doing things that others
haven't done. I've developed Korean-style methods of meditation, and
created for the first time in the world the academic discipline of
Brain Education. It is from the spirit of "Change" that these could
emerge. All the great figures history we remember, in fact, were
people who created value through this spirit of change. Change is
the heart of what made me who I am today and the root of creation.
Change is also my story. In the course of finding the answer to the
question, Who am I, I experienced my worldview itself changing
completely. Many other changes came from that change. Over the last
30 years, I have been doing many things others have not done. I
developed Korean-style meditation techniques and, with them,
established over a thousand meditation centers worldwide, and I,
someone who had suffered from attention deficit disorder, created
the academic discipline of Brain Education. These things were
possible because I had a spirit of change. Change is the heart of
what made me who I am today, and the root of my creative work. All
great achievements in human history have come from a spirit of
change, through which people have ceaselessly moved forward toward
completion, without resting comfortably in things as they are. The
spirit of change is a great driving force pushing growth and
development in human history as well as in individual lives. Q:
Does this film send the message you intended?
I can't say that it's 100% perfect, but I think it does contain
the message I mean to convey. I did my best, and I have no regrets.
Q: Do most people just turn a blind eye when they hear of these
issues?
This is not a film that stimulates the senses through
entertainment, violence, or sex. As we live our lives, though, we
all seriously wonder, "Is it okay to live like this? Couldn't I live
a better life?" This movie was made to inspire those who ask
themselves these questions. I think that any who have ever seriously
asked themselves such questions will be able to sympathize with the
message of my movie. We've already confirmed such responses in the
many screenings we've held so far. Q: Why the title?
"Change" is the source of creation. There was no better title to
convey our core message that, through individual change, we can
guide change on a social and global scale. I've never thought of
another title. Q: Advice to others who might like to follow in
your footsteps?
Dreams come true. If you have a dream to make a movie, and that
dream is for the benefit of all, then, sooner or later, the dream
comes true. If you always choose change and create, then, before you
know it, you will find yourself in that place you have been dreaming
of. So never give up. Boldly choose your dream, and pursue your
dream, really giving it your all to the very end, until it comes
true. Q: Is this a film that young people, college or high
school students could benefit from?
It is. In fact, one of the reasons I made this movie was to
encourage young people. I often give lectures to young people around
the world. I have seen many situations in which, rather then finding
their own values, young people make negative choices, trapped in
their educational system and social system, and mired in victim
consciousness and lack of confidence. In this movie, I'm telling
them to live as great creators by finding absolute value within
themselves, not to conform to external environments or standards. I
think that this is what young people should do, and that this is the
most important thing older generations can do for them. Q: How
do you see yourself in the next 10 years?
I'm currently establishing the Earth Citizens School in Sedona,
Arizona. The Earth Citizens School is a place I've been planning,
one that will develop leaders to guide change on a global level.
Through this school, I'll try to do a variety of experiments for
creating the healthier, more balanced, and sustainable culture I
introduced in the book and movie, Change.
Ten years from now, I'll be systemizing and organizing as a legacy
for the next generation the things I learn and obtain by operating
the Earth Citizens School, and I will establish and be running Earth
Citizens Schools in many places around the world.
And I will probably have already made several more movies. I may
even be running an international film festival for people who, like
me, want to express in film their dreams for a greater humanity and
a better world. |
