Planet of Snail
£10 / £8 concessions / £7 ICA Members
How do you negotiate a world you cannot hear or see? Deaf and blind since early childhood, Young-Chan has managed not only to overcome his physical impairments, but to navigate and communicate with his environment, and to appreciate beauty through other means. His wife and guide Soon-Ho, also physically hampered by a spinal disability, has taught him a new language: the pair telegraph their thoughts to one another using an intricate, voiceless lexicon of tapped fingers.
Award-winning documentarian Yi Seung-jun spent two years filming the couple and their everyday activities, and has assembled an intimate, poetic portrait. Young-Chan himself provides philosophical narration, and, as he senses the world by brushing his hands through sand or against tree-bark, we identify, captivatingly, on a haptic, rather than visual or aural level. More than just a humbling portrayal of disability, Planet of Snail is an absorbing, enlightening film about human experience.
Director Q&A
There will be a director Q&A with Yi Seung-jun after the 6.15pm screening on Saturday 23 June, in association with Open City Docs Fest.
Dir. Yi Seung-jun, 2011, Finland/Japan/S. Korea, Korean with English subtitles, 88 mins.
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