For five years, Park Jae-min followed the women’s team of ssireum wrestlers in Kolping, South Korea. Through his gaze, this traditional sport of wrestling on sand – a symbol of virility long held sacred – becomes the theatre of reconquest. Following the paths of Choi Hee-hwa, Kim Da-hye, Yang Yoon-seo, Song Song-hwa and Lim Soo-jeong, the film observes the tension between discipline, fatigue and a desire for emancipation. With a sober and immersive mise en scène, Park captures the materiality of bodies, the dust, the breathing, while at the same time revealing the persistence of gender norms. Neither manifesto nor simple sports chronicle, Sandstorm explores with rare finesse what it means to wrestle, both literally and figuratively, for one’s place in the social arena.
Jérôme Baron
French premiere · In partnership with Namdo Film Festival (South Korea)
