Namkoong Sun praises creative freedom Netflix gave her

Filmmaker Namkoong Sun has praised the creative freedom she enjoyed while making “Love Untangled”, saying Netflix’s production system allowed her to focus on the film without worrying about funding, distribution or cinema bookings.

Filmmaker Namkoong Sun has praised the creative freedom she enjoyed while making “Love Untangled”, saying Netflix’s production system allowed her to focus on the film without worrying about funding, distribution or cinema bookings.

Speaking at the Busan International Film Festival, the director said she was able to concentrate on the creative process once production began.

“Once we went into production, it was a system where we could focus only on the film,” she said.

“There may be upsides and downsides to that. I didn’t want to imagine what would happen if I failed to take responsibility within that freedom. But because that freedom was there, there were definitely things I was able to bring to it.”

Namkoong also said releasing the film on Netflix enabled it to reach audiences around the world and generate a level of international engagement she believed would be less likely with a theatrical release.

“Once it was out on Netflix, people all over the world were watching it at the same time. On Twitter, Instagram, all kinds of social media, everyone flocked in and enjoyed it together, me included,” she said.

She said the film’s reception had surprised her, particularly in countries where she had not expected a small-scale Korean romance to find a large audience.

“Small, sweet romance films don’t make up a big share of the Korean audience. But I was getting messages from people in Brazil and friends in Poland and Colombia saying the film was popular there,” she said.

“Love Untangled” is available to stream on Netflix.