From left, director Hyun Jin-sik, guitarist Kim Ji-hee and her mother Lee Soon-do pose at a press conference held at CGV Yongsan in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Full Film



Film starring intellectually impaired guitarist encourages audiences to live at their own pace



By Lee Gyu-lee



In a world where being fast is touted as a virtue, one might feel pressured to live at a much faster pace than one wants, and this speedy way of life may become overwhelming.



But "Free My Soul, Free My Song," a serene musical documentary, delivers the message that it is okay to take your time, and live at your own pace.





The documentary "Free My Soul, Free My Song" follows through guitarist Kim Ji-hee's journey to overcome her limitations as an artist and to release her first song. Courtesy of Full Film

The documentary follows a guitarist with a mild intellectual disability who persistently strives to create her own piece and hold a solo concert.



The 24-year-old, who was diagnosed with an intellectual disability at age 13, began playing the guitar in high school. Since then, she has had over 400 performances at various venues, including in the U.S. and at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympics.



As an artist, she has dreamt of having her own music to perform.



Creative industries are known to be fast-paced and there is a biased view that artists have to keep up with that pace in order to succeed, which leaves little room for people who create work more slowly or differently.



However, Kim chose to break such stereotypes and prove that people can be artists at their own pace. She persistently pursued her dream of releasing her official debut song "Mom's Back," with the help of her guitar teacher and family.



"The film is not about a disabled person playing music. But instead it's about a girl with a strong pursuit in music and she uses it to present her own world, despite her mental traits," director Hyun Jin-sik, who's also a guitarist, said at a press conference held at CGV Yongsan in Seoul, Monday.



"Disability, here, is not used to depict disabled people overcoming his or her limitations. It is used to show the limitation of incompetence that everyone has. By seeing Ji-hee's effort and progress she made after overcoming limitations, I hope audiences can realize what attitude they should have towards hurdles they are facing."





A scene from the film in which Kim practices her debut song "Mom's Back" / Courtesy of Full Film