Denis Dercourt, a French filmmaker, has stated that his upcoming mystery thriller film "Vanishing," set in Korea, will merge European and Korean traditions.

"It's such an honor for a French director to do a Korean movie. I wanted to have the mix of two cultures: European culture (through the making of the film) in Korea," the director said during an online press conference for the film, Tuesday.

The thriller film stars French actress Olga Kurylenko, who is most known for her role as a Bond girl in the 2008 film "Quantum of Solace," as well as Korean actors Yoo Yeon-seok of tvN's "Mr. Sunshine" and Ye Ji-won.

Alice (Kurylenko) is a forensic scientist who travels to Korea for a seminar. Korean investigator Jin-ho (Yoo) invites her to assist him in identifying a victim's body in a murder case, and as they investigate, they uncover evidence linking the case to an organ-trafficking ring.

The filmmaker, whose previous work includes the drama film "Tomorrow at Dawn" (2009), stated his excitement at the prospect of managing a global project and producing the film in Korea.

"The (film's) producer said to me, 'Do you want to shoot in Korea? I have a project there.' And I jumped at the occasion because, for us, it's such an incredible chance to shoot in Korea," he said.

"I think (Koreans) cannot understand how beloved Korea is in the world now. Everybody is looking up to Korean projects and films. … So (I thought if I take this project) I would know how Korean people in the cinema industry would work and Korean actors who are so famous in the world. So it was such a (great) chance."

The director strove to avoid transforming the picture into a collection of cliches for the Korean audience during production, he said.

"The thing is that it was meant as a global project, but we knew from the beginning that it was also for the Korean audience. So I didn't want to have locations that would be too cliche," he said. "If you make a film in France that is not for the French audience, you will go to places in Paris that Parisians would think are too cliche, and I didn't want that."

Dercourt added that he was amazed by how well-prepared the Korean performers were for their roles, and that he attempted to give them creative freedom.

"I gave actors a lot of freedom and they could give me a lot of new things (to work with) and advice (on how they would portray their roles)," he said.

Actor Yoo said he loved the fresh experience of working with a global actor and director, particularly during the pandemic's difficult periods.

"Even though we speak different languages, it was really refreshing to go through the process of making the scenes together (with Kurylenko)," he said. "Although we were filming in Korea, I've gone through so many new experiences."

Throughout the production, he was impressed by director Dercourt's tremendous enthusiasm, he remarked. "The director brought new ideas every time onto the set," Yoo said. "He would take in a lot of the ideas that the actors suggest and responded really well, which encouraged the actors."

The film "Vanishing" will be released in local theaters on March 30.