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Water Lilies

Logline :
The water lilies blooms, even in the filthiest waters.
Amid the mire of selfish desires and the indifference to others’ suffering,
hope begins to bloom anew in the fleeting moment when we recognize the humanity within one another.

Synopsis :
Hyowon, who dreams of becoming an actress, runs away to Seoul with Eunseo, a high school dropout. The two girls step into the sprawling city with their fragile hopes, clutching at its promises like lifelines. Their first home is a basement room, dim and shabby, the air thick and heavy, but to them, it is a sanctuary, a nest of possibilities.
Eunseo begins working odd jobs to keep them afloat, while
Hyowon, drawn by her dream, takes on menial tasks at a theater company. They are buoyed by their own visions of tomorrow, their dreams threading through the cracks in the worn walls.
Soon, Hyowon starts taking acting lessons from Suyeon, a lead actress at the theater.
Suyeon’s voice is steady, her words sharp: "Acting is the art of embodying another’s suffering." Hyowon listens, but the weight of those words eludes her. She cannot yet grasp the depths of Eunseo’s pain, nor can Eunseo fully see hers.
The two drift, parallel yet apart, their lives entangled by need and longing but marred by unspoken distance.
The city presses in, relentless. Their lives fracture under the strain of survival, yet questions linger in the spaces between them. What does it mean to carry someone else’s sorrow? What does it mean to live with your own?
For them, life is an unanswered question, fragile as the surface of water, trembling under the weight of its own reflections.

  • Chanho LEE
    Director
  • Jungbum Park
    Writer
  • Chanho Lee
    Writer
  • Jiyoon Oh
    Producer
  • Hyowon Lee
    Key Cast
    "Hyowon"
  • Eunseo Choi
    Key Cast
    "Eunseo"
  • Seungyeon Lee
    Key Cast
    "Suyeon"
  • Incheol Park
    Key Cast
    "Incheol"
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 58 minutes 38 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 1, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    100,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Korea, Republic of
  • Country of Filming:
    Korea, Republic of
  • Language:
    Korean
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.85:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • DC Independent Film Festival
    Washington DC
    United States
    February 16, 2025
    Washington Premiere
    FEATURES SELECTED IN COMPETITION
  • Noida International Film Festival
    noida
    India
    February 1, 2025
    noida premiere
    Feature film Best Director Award
  • Indian Panorama International Film Festival
    Mumbai
    India
    February 2, 2025
    Mumbai premiere
    official selection
  • Nepal Cultural International Film Festival
    Kathmandu
    India
    January 31, 2025
    Kathmandu premiere
    official selection
  • Caribbean Sea International Film Festival
    Margarita island
    Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of
    January 20, 2025
    venezuela premiere
    official selection
  • FILUMS International Film Festival
    Lahore
    Pakistan
    January 11, 2025
    Lahore premiere
    official selection
  • Hill Film Festival
    Dhaka, Rangamati
    Bangladesh
    December 26, 2024
    Bangladesh Premiere
    International Competition Best feature film Winner
  • Arjuntala International Film Festival
    South Parganas, Khari
    India
    December 25, 2024
    South Parganas premiere
    Best Asian feature film Winner
  • WRPN Women's International Film Festival
    Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
    United States
    Delaware Premiere
    AWARD WINNER DRAMA SECTION Excellence
  • Athens International Digital Film Festival AIDFF
    Athens Gerakas
    Greece
    December 14, 2024
    Athen Premiere
    International Competition Honorable Mention AWARD
  • Kolkata International Film Festival
    Kolkata
    India
    December 5, 2024
    Asia Premiere
    Official SELECTION: ASIAN SELECT(NETPAC AWARD)
  • Salerno International Film Festival
    Salerno
    Italy
    November 25, 2024
    Italy Premiere
    official selection
  • Girona Film Festival
    Girona
    Spain
    November 7, 2024
    spain Premiere
    official selection
  • International Moving Film Festival
    Mexico City
    November 7, 2024
    Mexico Premiere
    Fianlist
  • Salto Independent Film Festival
    Salto
    October 12, 2024
    South American Premiere
    official selection
  • Louisville's International Festival of Film
    Louisville
    October 11, 2024
    North American premiere
    official selection
Distribution Information
  • WaterRelease Pictures
    Distributor
    Country: Korea, Republic of
    Rights: All Rights, Internet, Video on Demand, Pay Per View, Hotel, Airline, Ship, Theatrical, Video / Disc, Free TV, Paid TV, Console / Handheld Device
Director Biography - Chanho LEE

Chan-ho LEE was born in S.KOREA in 1981.
He studied film at graduate school of Dongguk University.
He directed five short films.
<Water Lilies> is his first feature film.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I am a film director. I believe that being a director is about articulating one’s thoughts and visions through words to the crew and collaborating with them to bring those ideas to life.
Together, Our team shape these fragments into a completed work. And only when this creation meets its audience and fosters communication does the film director's journey truly come full circle.
Watch my film. Feel and think freely. All that you perceive becomes your theme, your story, your dialogue, and your beauty.
Then, through our exchange, let us complete the film together, making it whole. This is the message I offer as a film director.
I am a passionate filmmaker who expresses through 'FILM'.
My most recent creation is the feature film 'Water Lilies'

For inquiries or collaborations, feel free to reach out via email or WhatsApp.

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History of feature films works
-2024 feature film <Water Lilies> director

- 26th DC Independent Film Festival (FEATURES SELECTED IN COMPETITION, 2025)
- 12th Noida International Film Festiva ((Feature film Best Director Award, 2025)
- 7th Indian Panorama International Film Festiva(IPIFF) (Official selection feature film, 2025)
- 6th Nepal Cultural International Film Festival (feature film official selection, 2025 scheduled)
- 5th London Director Awards (Finalist, feature film 2025)
- 10th Caribbean Sea International Film Festival (Official selection feature film, 2025)
- 12th FILUMS International Film Festival (Official selection feature film, 2025)
- 4th Arjuntala International Film Festival (Best Asian feature film Winner, 2024)
- 6th Hill Film Festival (International Competition Best feature film Winner, 2024)
- 13th Athens International Digital Film Festival AIDFF (International Competition Honorable Mention AWARD, 2024)
- 30th Kolkata International Film Festival KIFF (Official SELECTION: ASIAN SELECT(NETPAC AWARD), 2024)
- 78th Salerno International Film Festival (Official selection feature film, 2024)
- 13th WRPN Women's International Film Festival (DRAMA SECTION Excellence Winner)
- 36th Girona Film Festival (Official selection feature film, 2024)
- 17th International Moving Film Festival (Finalist, feature film 2024)
- 9th Salto Independent Film Festival (Official selection feature film, 2024)
- 15th Louisville's international festival of film (Official selection feature film, 2024)
- 3th Eastern Europe Film Festival (BEST DIRECTOR SPECIAL AWARD feature film September, 2024)
- 3th Berlin Kiez Film Festival (BEST DIRECTOR AWARD feature film September, 2024)
- 3th Berlin Indie Film Festival (Official selection feature film September, 2024)
- 2th Cine Paris film festival (BEST FIRST TIME DIRECTOR AWARD feature film, August 2024)

- 2th Film Festival of Mumbai (feature film official selection, 2025 scheduled)
- 15th Arraial Cine Fest (feature film official selection, 2025 scheduled)
- 8th NEW DELHI FILM FESTIVAL (feature film official selection, 2025 scheduled)
- 3th Kashmir International Film and Cultural Festival(feature film official selection, 2025 scheduled)
- 11th Chauri Chaura International Film Festival(feature film official selection, 2025 scheduled)
- 22th Oxford Film Festival (feature film official selection, 2025 scheduled)
- 13th CEBU INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL(feature film official selection, 2025 scheduled)
- 10th Las Cruces International Film Festival (feature film official selection, 2025 scheduled)
- 15th Capital City Film Festival(feature film official selection, 2025 scheduled)
- 6th Aravali International Film Festival (feature film official selection, 2025 scheduled)
- 5th Kyoto Independent Film Festival (Best First-Time Director in a Feature Film, 2025 scheduled)

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-2019 feature film <Height of the Wave>(Director PARK Jeong-Beom) production support
-2015 feature film <Alive>(Director PARK Jeong-Beom) assistant director

History of directing works
-2024 feature film <Water Lilies> director
-2013 short film <Flamenco Nina> director
*2013 14th Jeonju International Film Festival International Competition
*2013 18th Indie Forum
*2013 7th Film Festival for Women's Rights, International Competition
*2013 18th Gwangju Human Rights Film Festival
*2014 13th Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival
*2014 14th Korea Youth Film Festival, INTYFF
*2015 15th Pohang Fine Short Film Festival
-2013 short film <Probie> director
-2012 short film <Who's gonna save me> director
*2012 10th Asiana International Film Festival International Competition
-2009 short film <Visible darkness> director
-2008 short film <The chair that loved me.> director