Australian Filmmakers Sign Open Letter Criticising “Public Shaming” Of SFF Short Film ‘Mukbang’

Last month, controversy broke when the short film Mukbang, directed by Australian actress Eliza Scanlen, won a $7,000 jury prize at this year’s Sydney Film Festival.

The short film centres on a white school student who has a sexual awakening after she starts streaming videos of herself binge-eating, a trend that’s popular in South Korea. In a controversial scene, removed from the film after it had won the award, the main character draws a cartoonish, unreal sketch of a black schoolboy being attacked.

The scene was called out on Twitter by writer and actress Michelle Law. Shortly afterwards, Scanlen apologised, stating that she would use the prize money to “create positive action.”

“I intended this film to be a young girl’s journey of self-discovery in the age of internet culture, and I failed to recognise how problematic this was. I take full responsibility for this,” she wrote.

Now, backlash against the short film has been called out in an open letter signed by some of the biggest filmmakers in Australia, including Rabbit Proof Fence director Philip Noyce, Animal Kingdom director David Michod, Bran Nue Dae director Rachel Perkins, and Samson and Delilah director Warwick Thornton.

“Something is dangerously askew in the way that we are talking about race in the arts in this country, and we feel that it is time we spoke up,” the letter begins. “In particular, the Indigenous filmmakers and people of colour are alarmed that so much is being claimed on our behalf without our consent.”

The letter then goes on to criticise the “bullying” that accompanied the backlash.

“The current focus on public shaming and ‘burning down’ the industry is misguided and ahistorical. Even if it started as an attempt at genuine critique, in the divisive and polarising world of social media, it has quickly descended into online bullying.

“The activists accusing the festival of being a part of white supremacy are not taking into consideration the long history of ground-breaking, internationally recognised Indigenous and culturally diverse work, much of which has been supported by the festival itself. Instead, they are importing many of their ideas from elsewhere, including the term “BIPOC” (black, Indigenous and people of colour), which many Indigenous Australians find offensive because it diminishes their First Nation status.”

Later on, the letter acknowledges that many critics of Mukbang have not even seen the film. “The claims of cultural misappropriation appear hypersensitive, but ultimately, isn’t that for the Korean community itself to adjudicate? We feel the filmmakers, the judges and festival are being unfairly targeted and that people need to watch the film for themselves to make up their own minds.”

The open letter is available to be read in full here.