25cm

Directed by Seo Ah-hyun

Before my thirty-fourth birthday, I underwent emergency surgery at the ER. I’ve been diagnosed with stage 3 endometrial cancer. Enduring the tough chemotherapy, I sense that it changes the way I see the world and how my body experiences it. It also recalls my memories of my grandmother who fought against kidney cancer but passed away in pain. I realize that I have never thought about my fear of death even though I filmed my grandmother's funeral eight years ago. With a 25cm surgical scar from my navel to the perineum, I now pick up the camera to confront my deepest fear of death with the desire to live, standing on the border between death and life. 25cm is a personal essay exploring the question that a person, undergoing the tough treatment, asks oneself: Is life worth living despite the overwhelming pain?