Francis Han is a young director from United States. Francis studied at Ringling College of Art & Design in Florida. His latest short film is about an anti-social apartment manager who purchases a video game from a flea market but discovers the horrific cost to stop playing. The noir-style thriller attracted our attention and we asked Fransis Han some questions about his film.

Synopsis

An elder game seller’s daughter is suffering an unfair rental increase from the apartment
manager, Sam. In order to punish the mean Sam and take revenge for his daughter, the elder
seller lures Sam to steal the 503 game discs. After Sam tries to pass the game, he begins to
realize that he has fallen into an elaborate trap and can’t escape.

Director Statement by Francis Han

“503” is about the elder seller’s revenge. Sam‘s negative attitude and absurd lifestyle lead him
into a state of fear and force him to suffer the consequences. On the other hand, “503” is a
realistic movie, which explains how fear comes from oneself.

How did you come up with the story? What inspired you?

I used to really like the 90s video games. I tried to bring the 90th video game visual into a horror film. Then, a withdrawn, self-destructive man Sam, was born in my brain. With Sam as the main character, I completed my horror film script 503. 

How did you find the actors?

My Professor recommended George Ross Bridgman for the elder seller, When I watched his reel, I immediately made the decision, he was the person I was looking for. We posted our casting call for Sam and Mary on some different platforms, and after more than twenty interviews, we chose Patrick Burkard as Sam and my classmate Numa Khandwani as Mary. Their excellent performance uplifted this film!

What were the biggest challenges when filming?

Time! Time is the biggest enemy for filmmakers. We never had enough time to capture enough footage during production, and when we were shooting in exteriors we chased the sunlight. So, I must say that a reasonable shooting schedule is key, and I must be very flexible during production.

The original intention of shooting 503 was that I wanted to integrate different majors.
503 is a film-noir, many classic techniques are utilized in the film, such as entrapment
and doppelganger shadows. However, there are many new experiments such as
warmer colors, higher saturation, and pink skin tone. I believe these experiments are
successful and resulted in a distinctive visual effect.

What has your experience been studying at your college? How much of an input did your college supervisors have in your film?

I miss my Ringling College all the time. In college, I learned about film more in-depth and met many filmmakers. My professors have done a lot for my film 503. They gave me a lot of suggestions for my script and supervised the entire production process. I must say without them, my shooting process would have been brutal.

What is your dream project?
I dream of making a drama set in the late 19th century. I think the industrial age is fascinating.

What made you want to become a film director? Who are your favorite film directors?

I wrote and directed my first short film, Broken Again, during high school, a two-minute black and white silent film. Then I fell in love with filmmaking and decided to become a film director. Many film directors influenced me. It is hard to say my favorite one. Ma-Xu Weibang is in my top 5 for sure. He was the first generation of Thriller directors (20s–40s). He was a man who connected the cinema between East and West.