(Tree J Company)

Actor Jang Keun-suk has directed a forthcoming short film, “The Great Legacy,” which is scheduled to premiere at 2016 Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan).

“The Great Legacy” is a student film assembled by Jang and his close colleagues from Hanyang University’s Film and Theatre Studies department.

The plot -- despite the title’s reference to the symbolic Charles Dickens novel -- follows a “Death of a Salesman” type of story of a ruthless son who attaches himself to his father’s passbook instead of his actual father, who is in a coma.

Regarding the story, Jang has commented, “Modern people face difficulty in recognizing the love of our fathers. However, I believe it’s because our fathers are too passive (in expressing themselves) -- it’s why they feel so distant.”

“The Great Legacy,” however, is not Jang’s directorial debut. In 2012, he clinched a special award at Japan’s 2012 Short Short Film Festival & Asia for another short film, “Do You Still Envy Such a Life?”

2016 BiFan will run from July 21-31.

By Jung Min-kyung (mkj1105@heraldcorp.com)