Private Project

One Minute in Hell

Log-line: A brother takes his younger ten-year-old sister, who is doubting her dream, to "The Box", where you can meet your future self. How will her future self turn out?

Synopsis: Terrance, a workaholic man learns his ten-year-old sister, Luna, is doubting her dream job. So he takes her to "The Box," where you can meet your future self for one minute. They wait for her future self to turn up, but the future isn't what he imagined...

  • Sam Sungmin Lee
    Director
  • Sam Sungmin Lee
    Writer
  • Sally Long
    Producer
  • Daniel Kim
    Key Cast
    "Terrance"
  • Estelle Daon Lee
    Key Cast
    "Luna"
  • Konstantina Samartzis
    Key Cast
    "Angela"
  • Haesol Choi
    Key Cast
    "Iseul"
  • Martin Andersen
    Director of Photography
  • Nicholas Fairlie
    Production Designer
  • Marcus Galic
    Sound Designer
  • Marcus Galic
    Composer
  • Dion Annett
    Costume Designer
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Sci-Fi, Drama
  • Runtime:
    18 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 31, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    8,000 AUD
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    Australia
  • Language:
    English, Korean
  • Shooting Format:
    Arri Amira
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.85
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne
  • Goyang Moving Image Festival 2024
    Goyang
    Korea, Republic of
    Best Short Film Winner
  • Setting Sun Film Festival 2025
    Melbourne
    Australia
    Best Emerging Finalist
  • Canberra Short Film Festival 2024
    Canberra
    Australia
    Selection
Director Biography - Sam Sungmin Lee

Lee’s English and Korean first names, Sam Sungmin, side-by-side represent his voice as a multi-cultural and bi-lingual filmmaker. Themes such as obsession, absence and letting go have been explored by Lee in his works so far.

One Minute in Hell was the film Lee wrote and directed through the Victorian College of the Arts at the University of Melbourne during his Honours year in 2023. Alongside making One Minute in Hell, Lee conducted a practice-lead research on ‘The Challenges of Making a Korean Short Film as a Korean-Australian Filmmaker’.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

"I believe our lives as children begin with a dream and end with death; these are the themes I wanted to explore with One Minute in Hell.

As someone raised in a Korean family with an older sibling who I spoke to in Korean, it made most sense One Minute in Hell should be made and told in Korean as I could personally understand and relate to a Korean family on an emotional level.

One Minute in Hell is my first film that tells a Korean story - the first of many Korean films I would like to make using my Korean voice."