Why Did the Director of the Tragic Shooting Film 'Eojega Omyeon' Choose Netflix?

Last Year, 19 Films by New Directors... 11 More Scheduled for Release This Year

A scene from the movie "If Yesterday Comes," released by Netflix last year
[Photo by Netflix]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] The global online video service (OTT) Netflix released the film "If Yesterday Comes" last year, which tells the story of teenage African American science prodigies who embark on a fateful time travel journey to forget a tragic shooting incident that took their families away. The director of this work, Stephen Bristol, had no prior experience directing any films. His debut work gained great popularity, recording 12 million paid subscription accounts worldwide within the first four weeks. Director Bristol said, "Before the film's release, I was barely making a living through part-time jobs," adding, "Thanks to Netflix's investment and advice, I was able to make the film I dreamed of."

On the 28th, Netflix cited a recent report from the Los Angeles Times stating that among the films released last year, a total of 19 were debut works by new directors, and added that this year, a total of 11 feature film debuts by new directors are scheduled to be released through Netflix. In this trend, the Los Angeles Times reported, "Amid the increasingly intense competition in entertainment streaming, Netflix is differentiating itself by opening opportunities for new creators."

Nanatsuka Kan, director of the film "Maybe Between Us," said, "Looking at the mainstream content industry, they are only focused on how to position films or dramas that can surpass competitors' content and what blockbusters are about to be released," adding, "Thanks to Netflix's emergence, more opportunities are arising for new creators."

In South Korea as well, new directors and writers are gaining opportunities to communicate with global audiences through Netflix. Including last year's Netflix Korean original series "Love Alarm," and this year's upcoming releases "Extracurricular" and "The School Nurse Files," these are debut or co-written works by new writers. The original series "The Silent Sea," produced by actor Jung Woo-sung, also features a new director at the helm.

Netflix evaluated this as "very groundbreaking considering the Korean entertainment industry's practice of producing major works centered around star directors and writers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.