A Prayer Carried Toward the Altar(Working Title)
Korea | Film 75min, TV 45min x2 | 4K | Color+B&W
Logline
Following the forgotten journey of two young Koreans who traveled to Rome over a century ago, the film questions memory, history, and the meaning of vocation through a contemporary lens.
Synopsis
In 1919, two Catholic seminarians from Joseon set out for Rome. Yet their dreams were never fulfilled. As the first Koreans to study in Rome and refugees from colonial Korea, their lives gradually faded into the margins of history. Traveling between Korea and Italy, the film follows surviving records, the places that remember them, and the people who keep their memory alive to reconstruct their forgotten journey, asking what vocation and remembrance can mean today.
Director's Statement
In 2020, a century-old prayer was discovered in the Vatican archives. The film begins with this prayer and follows the lives of two seminarians whose dreams remained unfulfilled, exploring humanity's pursuit of unseen values and selfless devotion. In an age that prizes only material success, it asks whether an unfulfilled calling is truly a failure, inviting reflection on the deeper values that shape our lives.
Director LEE Changmin
Changmin LEE is a documentary filmmaker and film scholar. He is the founder of Anamnesis Film and a Research Professor at Korea National University of Arts. His work explores the relationship between memory, history, and cinematic representation.
Producer HIROYAMA-PARK Soha, KIM Sang yong
Filmmaker Soha Hiroyama-PARK was born in Japan and raised in South Korea. Her previous short fiction film Lake and I (2022) was screened at the Busan International Film Festival, the Daegu Independent Short Film Festival, and EYE Filmmuseum (Amsterdam), among others. She currently works as a producer and cinematographer on several documentary projects.
Sang Yong KIM has expanded his expertise through the study and creation of documentary filmmaking and media art direction. He is currently a faculty member at Sogang University, where he teaches and conducts research with both undergraduate and graduate students.