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About the film:
Korean director Park Chan-wook is presenting his latest film, Thirst, in Competition today, five years after taking home the Grand Prix du Jury for Old Boy. This year's movie involves blood, and blood means vampires. A young priest has gone to Africa with the purest of intentions, to volunteer to test a new drug; however, an unexpected side effect of the treatment changes him into a vampire. When he returns home, his Catholic faith is sorely tested, as his thirst for blood nearly overpowers him. At the peak of his existential torment, he is recontacted by a childhood friend to whom he feels irresistibly attracted.

Thirst gave Park Chan-wook an opportunity to work with one of his favorite actors, Song Kang-ho, for a fourth time. The pair's first film was Joint Security Area (2000); they went on to make Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2003) and its sequel, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005). The vampire film project had been on the back burner for both director and star for ten years. According to Song: "When I received the script, I was surprised by the meticulous structure and the originality of the story. But more than that, I was thrilled to see that it had finally come to life."
The lovely young actress chosen to play opposite Song is Kim Ok-vin. Park praised her thus: "Kim Ok-vin's ageless, complex, and compound appearance and her raw energy, through her classic yet modern image all make her an actress with infinite potential." And Kim admires Park, too: "I've read no other script that stimulated my imagination as much. The characters came alive as I was reading. The character contained everything that an actor could wish to express and I didn't want the part to go to anyone else."

Press conference:
One of the press conferences today featured the Competition film Thirst  by Park Chan-wook. He was joined by the two main actors Song Kang-ho et Kim Ok-vin on the podium to field questions from the journalists. Highlights:

Park Chan-wook on religion:
If the Vatican gets as interested in my film as it is in the one by Tom Hanks (Angels & Demons), I'd be delighted. When I made the hero a priest, my idea was not to criticize the calling or the religion, both of which I respect. I was just looking for the purest and most humanistic job a person in our society could have, and the priesthood seemed obvious to me. To have a character who practices charity and does good deeds in daily life, and who needs to drink blood to stay alive… I was curious about the dilemmas that could create, and what the moral of the story could be… When I was mulling over this project ten years ago, I wanted to avoid all the usual vampire flick clichés, like the manor house, the cloak, the garlic, or the Christian cross. Vampires are always shown in a romantic way, with their fangs, and all… I wanted my own vampire to be quite realistic and even scientific."

Kim Ok-vin on the violence in Thirst:
"I didn't find the shooting especially difficult, even though there were some trying scenes. I was soaked in so much blood for this film that afterwards, as soon as I saw blood in a movie, I'd burst out laughing."

Park Chan-wook on his directing technique:
My top priority was to make a film that would appeal to our five senses. I was careful to think about how the film would feel physically. I wanted Thirst to be seen, heard, and felt, either by smell or touch. In each shot, I strove to keep the audience's five senses constantly tingling.