Bringing WEBTOON’s favorite characters to the screen

Bringing sections of inner monologues to the screen, Alia Shawkat plays both the main character of Freaking Romance and the reader, creating a strange, compelling internal dialogue. 

Watching Shawkat talk to herself for two minutes is a fantastic experience in the bizarre. Dressed in a plain shirtdress and rendered in black and white, the actress is strange, weird, and wonderful all at once. Her monologue is intercut throughout Obsessed, and director Kevin Phillips has created a piece that speaks to a lot of contemporary restrictions while also alluding to the larger arcs in Freaking Romance and in WEBTOON stories. 

Helped out by Alia’s brother Sharif, who worked the camera, the entire shoot was done over Zoom. While this usually would result in a piece that lacks depth, production company, Ways & Means created an intimate portrait of a reader who is as obsessed with the story as the camera is obsessed with her. Agency Fred & Farid plans to expand the campaign with multiple celebrities, exploring the different genres and stories available on WEBTOON.