Granny's Ghost Story + Man-Shin: Ten Thousand Spirits
Kim Keum-wha (1931) is Korea’s top shaman. In this anything but straight-forward documentary her story is interwoven with important moments in Korea’s recent history.
Ever since an initiation rite at the age of seventeen, Kim is possessed by spirits. She dedicated her life to conserving the Korean shamanism tradition. She trained to practice Guts – rites carried out by shamans, meant to strengthen the bond between spirits and people – and excelled in traditional singing and dancing. The country has been under her spell for centuries. Kim’s impressive career however coincides with a history of oppression on shamanism throughout the Japanese colonial period and the Korean War. With an enthralling mix of archival footage, animation and re-enactment director Park Chan Kyong – essentially a visual artist – describes Korea’s recent history through the extraordinary eyes of Kim.