[Dispatch=Park Hye-jin] "I was curious about myself when acting—the fear of losing my sight, the fear of being chased, all of it."(Shin Min-a)

Actress Shin Min-a unveils a new side of herself in a thriller. She took on a dual role. She played both a photographer losing her sight and a visually impaired ceramicist simultaneously.

She even tackled eye acting. She expressed the process of losing vision through the position of her pupils. She practiced eye movements so much that she got headaches.

'Pupil' became a new experience for her. Shin Min-a said, "It was a work that awakened new senses in me," expressing confidence that "it will be a thriller where you can feel diverse emotions."

The film 'Pupil' (Director Yeom Ji-ho) held a production presentation on the morning of the 26th at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall. Director Yeom Ji-ho, Shin Min-a, Kim Nam-hee, Lee Seung-ryong, and Kim Young-a attended.

'Pupil' is a suspense thriller film. It tells the story of Seo-jin, who is gradually losing her sight due to a genetic disease, uncovering suspicions surrounding the death of her twin sister Seo-in.

Director Yeom Ji-ho said, "After seeing my independent feature 'The Next Door Neighbor,' the production company contacted me," adding "I received a scenario that was in planning and development, and it was fun to read because it was a classic thriller."

Shin Min-a likewise said, "I actually wanted to continue doing thrillers," and "It's a genre I want to explore more as opportunities come. 'Pupil' seemed like it would be a thriller work where I could feel diverse emotions."

Shin Min-a took on a dual role. She played photographer Seo-jin and Seo-in, a visually impaired ceramicist. Seo-jin herself is losing her sight due to hereditary optic neuropathy while pursuing her sister's death.

She said, "While uncovering her sister's death, the fear of losing sight and the fear of being chased by someone were interesting," and "I was curious about myself when acting. That's why I wanted to challenge it."

Director Yeom said, "Since these were characters that required a lot of acting ability, I focused on acting ability during casting," explaining "I needed someone who could hold and drive the center of the story. I wanted it to be a face not often seen in this genre."

'Pupil' was a new experience for Shin Min-a. It made sense—a dual role and a character losing her sight. There was a lot to think about and prepare for. She also challenged eye acting.

Shin Min-a said, "I watched a lot of videos. It became an opportunity to learn from diverse perspectives more than I had felt before," and "I watched a lot about situations where sight is gradually lost and how people overcome and cope with them."

She continued, "I also referenced the position and movement of pupils a lot. I studied the various references the director sent me," adding "I practiced so much that I wondered if my pupil would stay in this position. I even got headaches."

Actress Kim Young-a said, "(The eye acting) was really impressive," and "As sight is lost, the position of the pupil is lost as well. I could only think it was amazing that she maintained that concentration during long shoots and expressed emotions."

With bandages blocking her vision, other senses came alive. Shin Min-a said, "When I covered my eyes with a bandage, I indirectly felt the frustration and fear that Seo-jin was in," and "My hearing became really sensitive. I had the experience of other senses coming alive."

Director Yeom said, "When one of the five senses is diminished, other senses come alive. I captured that with hearing," and "I put a lot of effort into layering various sounds so that loud and soft sounds could be heard in a multidimensional way."

Shin Min-a also had to handle complex emotions. "Seo-in and Seo-jin have the common point of losing sight, but Seo-in has complex feelings like inferiority toward Seo-jin," she said, "They are different but have points where they clash."

She continued, "The emotional aspect in the relationship between Seo-jin and Seo-in was difficult," and "I tried to express that subtle part. I wondered how to raise the tension."

The process was not easy. She reflected, "There were character devices, I felt threatened by people I didn't know, there was pressure to find something, and there were many scenes of running away or being surprised, so it was physically difficult."

Still, she wanted to try expressing things anew. Shin Min-a said, "I tried to do it authentically, but I worry if I expressed it well," showing humility, "Personally, I wanted to do better."

Kim Nam-hee played Detective Do-hyuk. While wary of Seo-jin's obsession, he becomes her eyes and tracks Seo-in's death together. He unfolds action scenes to protect Seo-jin.

He said, "The role was attractive. It was difficult to that extent," and "After being cast, I confessed to the director, 'I don't think I'll do well.' After contemplating, my answer was to act flexibly. I changed my working method as instructed."

Lee Seung-ryong challenges screen acting for the first time. He played model Hyun-min. He is a character who obsessively fixates on Seo-jin with persistent madness.

Lee Seung-ryong said, "I thought and acted with focus on why Hyun-min became obsessed with Seo-jin, what perspective he has, and that process," adding "The director opened up a lot on set."

Shin Min-a said, "I was really scared because Hyun-min's madness was shown in the threatening situation," and "I think you'll be startled a lot by actor Seung-ryong's angry voice. My screaming was captured realistically."

Kim Young-a joined as Bodyguard Detective Mi-gyeong protecting Seo-jin. She said, "It's my first time playing a detective character," and "Since Mi-gyeong is a bodyguard police officer, I had to protect Seo-jin. I carried the basic nature of a detective, but brought out a human side to become a detective Seo-jin trusts and feels assured by."

The key keywords of 'Pupil' are 'gaze' and 'obsession'. Director Yeom said, "Although Seo-jin works as a photographer, because she has a disease where her sight deteriorates, an obsession with eyes develops," and "I thought inner self is expressed through the eyes."

He said, "I tried to show that well in the opening sequence," and "I focused on the atmosphere felt when Seo-jin photographs eyes and the fear that unfolds when Hyun-min rushes in."

Contemplation deepened to express it visually. "I consulted with ophthalmologists about the visual state of visually impaired people," he said, "I expressed (the eyes) in three stages. Since the third gaze had to be special, I went through trial and error with the CG team and created it."

Director Yeom said, "I tried to take care of the details of video and sound so it could be an audiovisual experience," and "I believe you can gain much more when experiencing it on a big screen with good speakers."

Shin Min-a said, "This is a work where the fear of being chased by someone in a situation where you can't see is the differentiating point from other thrillers," and "You'll only be able to recognize those details when watching in theaters."

Kim Nam-hee said, "Every character has wounds and illness. It's a story of people striving to live within it," and "I hope you watch the film with fresh eyes."

'Pupil' had the production team of 'Hide and Seek' participate. It opens on the 24th of next month.

<Photo=Lee Ho-jun>