South Korean director Hur Bum-wook has died aged 43, just two weeks before the release of his award-winning animated feature Pig That Survived Foot-And-Mouth Disease.
The rising filmmaker died on Tuesday morning (July 28) while receiving medical treatment, following an accidental fire that occurred on July 23, according to the film’s distributor Indiestory.
The feature was scheduled to debut in local cinemas on August 5 but its release has been postponed.
“We will announce future release schedules after the bereaved family and production crew have time to grieve and process this loss,” said Indiestory in a statement issued to local press.
Pig That Survived Foot-And-Mouth Disease marked Hur’s second feature and premiered in the Midnight Specials section of Annecy International Animation Festival in 2024. It went on to play Sitges and was nominated for best animated film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
The film also won best feature at the 50th Seoul Independent Film Festival and received a special mention at Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. It received a release in Japan on May 29.
Produced through his own company, Hur Films, the film follows a pig who wishes to become human and an army deserter who wants to reconnect with his animal self. The pair cross paths in a forest where they reckon with the violence they have endured and what it means to be human.
Hur was born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1983. His self-made short animation Ordinary Meals earned him a place at the Korean Academy of Film Arts (KAFA) in 2010.
His second short, City Of Good People, was selected for both local and international film festivals in 2011 before he debuted with feature On The White Planet in 2014. Taking two years to complete, it premiered at Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival before going on to screen at Fantasia and earning a nomination at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. The following year, it won the grand prix at the Holland Animation Film Festival.
A third short, Galapagos, came in 2019 before second feature Pig That Survived Foot-And-Mouth Disease, which had reportedly taken 10 years to complete and had drawn comparisons to Bong Joon-ho’s Okja and early Yeon Sang-ho animation The King Of Pigs.
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