Director Park Chan-wook's 'No Other Choice' has been selected as Korea's representative film for the international feature category at the Academy Awards.
On the 2nd, the Korean Film Council announced that the new film 'No Other Choice' has been selected as Korea's representative film for the international feature category at the 2026 Academy Awards.
The judging panel included Kwak Sin-ae, producer of 'Parasite,' as the chairperson, and judges Oh Sang-ho, Choi Jeong-hwa, Lee Dong-ha, Lee Jong-ho, Shin Su-won, Choi Su-jin, Park Gi-joo, and Jang Hye-jin.
They noted, "Considering all evaluation criteria such as stable cinematic quality, the contemporary theme of 'layoffs,' strong performances by excellent actors, and capable North American distributors, it is deemed the most competitive among the submitted works," and that "the protagonist's antisocial behavior attacking the system is compelling due to a desire for home, making it a high-quality black comedy."
They continued, "It is a film that stands out for its outstanding quality and the actors' performances, and it has a high level of completeness, along with a globally recognized director and a distributor with Academy Award experience," adding that "the contradiction of having to eliminate things to safeguard is chillingly passionate and humorous. The humor surrounding unavoidable dilemmas and the masterful cinematic language that speaks to us again, combined with irony that shapes a tragedy relatable to the world, makes it a piece that the Academy will cheer for."
Previously, Director Park Chan-wook's last work 'Decision to Leave' left a sense of regret after being eliminated from the final nominees in the international feature category at the 95th Academy Awards held in 2023. At the time, 'Decision to Leave' was mentioned as a leading contender for the international feature category but was ultimately left out, causing shock.
'Decision to Leave' was set to become Park Chan-wook's first feature film nominated for an Oscar, but it had to be postponed for another opportunity.
In this context, 'No Other Choice' has once again been selected as Korea's representative film for the Academy Awards, drawing attention to whether it can be a final nominee.
Meanwhile, 'No Other Choice' was officially invited to compete in the institutional sector at the 82nd Venice Film Festival and was premiered on the 29th (local time) at the main theater, Sala Grande. Following the screening, the audience's standing ovation and cheers lasted for about 9 minutes, making it a hot topic.
In particular, it recorded a freshness score of 100% on the global review site Rotten Tomatoes, emerging as the most anticipated film this fall. The British BBC described it as "a delightfully entertaining Korean masterpiece akin to this year's 'Parasite'," awarding it a perfect 5-star rating. It is currently considered a strong contender for the top prize, the Golden Lion, at the Venice Film Festival.
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