Women’s Voice's Networking Drinks

A chance to meet director Shim Hyejung and network with peers from the film industry and beyond, continuing the conversation following her Q&A screening of A Bedsore. For women (and anyone else!) in love with film.

The seemingly idyllic domestic life of retired man Chang-sik (Kim Jonggu), of his bed-ridden wife Gil-soon (Kang Aesim), unable to speak after a stroke, and of her caretaker Sook-ok (Jeon Gukhyang), an undocumented Korean Chinese immigrant, starts tumbling down when Gilsoon develops a bedsore that refuses to heal. The tense situation throws Sook-ok’s precarious status into sharp relief as Chang-sik’s attempts to control her result both in violent outbursts and an awkward proposal. While the older couple’s adult children reprimand their father for crossing the boundaries and violating the caretaker’s dignity, they have their own bone to pick with each other.

As a festering bedsore on the suffering mother’s body opens old family wounds and grievances, Shim Hyejung’s strong debut feature makes us also think about the issues around the ethics of care for the elderly and the disabled, and the responsibilities we have as members of families and wider social networks.