Ahead of the opening of the Cannes Film Festival, attention in the film world is focusing on the strong showing of Korean films, from jury president director Park Chan-wook to Na Hong-jin's Hope, which is in competition, and Yeon Sang-ho's new film Monstrous, invited to the midnight section.
The 79th Cannes Film Festival opened at 7 p.m. on the 12th (local time). The festival, which runs through the 23rd, announced the start of its journey with French director Pierre Salvadori's La Venus électrique.
In particular, director Park Chan-wook is drawing attention as the first Korean to serve as jury president in the competition. In addition, Na Hong-jin's new film Hope was invited to the competition—the first Korean film to receive such an invitation in four years—drawing attention over whether it will win the top prize, the Palme d'Or. Yeon Sang-ho's new film Monstrous was officially invited to the midnight screening section, and director Jung Joo-ri's new film Dora was also invited to directors' week.
# "500 billion won production for one installment"...Na Hong-jin's Hope enters Cannes competition
Na Hong-jin's new film Hope is a project that attracted attention from the planning stage with a star-studded cast including Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon and Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, and Taylor Russell. The film, planned as a three-part series, recorded a production cost of 50 billion won for just the first installment, pushing total production costs beyond 100 billion won and making it one of the largest Korean film productions in history. The Hope team will attend the red carpet and world premiere at the Grand Théâtre Lumière at 9:30 p.m. on the 17th, and the next day will hold an official photocall and press conference to present the film to movie fans around the world.
Hope begins with Hopo Port branch office chief Beom-seok, who is stationed in the demilitarized zone, being told by local youths that a tiger has appeared; as the whole village goes on alert, the story begins when he encounters an unbelievable reality. Hope previously drew attention when Thierry Frémaux, director of the Cannes Film Festival, praised it as a film whose genre constantly changes and unfolds a new story never before told. Na Hong-jin, who has captivated audiences and critics with overwhelming immersion, high-quality mise-en-scène and exceptional direction, has long prepared this new work, raising expectations even more.
# Will Jun Ji-hyun become "Cannes queen"? Yeon Sang-ho's Monstrous officially invited
Monstrous is director Yeon Sang-ho's new film, who has built such a distinctive universe that it is called the Yeoniverse. The film depicts isolated survivors in a building sealed off by a mysterious infection fighting infected people who evolve into unpredictable forms. With a star-studded cast including Jun Ji-hyun, Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Changwook, Shin Hyun-been, Kim Shin-rock and a special appearance by Go Soo, the film has long been the focus of domestic movie fans' expectations. The Monstrous team will attend the official midnight screening and red carpet at the Grand Théâtre Lumière at 12:30 a.m. on the 15th to grace the event.
The festival director announced the invitation of Yeon Sang-ho's Monstrous and said, "It is a horror zombie genre film directed by Yeon Sang-ho, known to all of us for Train to Busan, set in a sealed building. Audiences will imagine various narrative devices and storytelling possibilities from this premise," raising expectations among film fans worldwide. Given the unique casting lineup and the meeting with Yeon Sang-ho, the "zombie master," which has generated strong anticipation from early on, the world premiere is expected to attract concentrated interest from global press and film industry figures.
# Entire filmography invited to Cannes, director Jung Joo-ri's Dora
Director Jung Joo-ri was officially invited to directors' week at this year's Cannes Film Festival with her third feature, Dora. Jung Joo-ri was first invited to the Cannes Directors' Fortnight in 2014 with Dohee-ya, and in 2022 her film Next Sohee was invited as the closing film of the Critics' Week. With Dora, all of her directed works have now been invited to the Cannes Film Festival, drawing attention. Dora is a work that deals with the process in which two people wounded in body and mind are swept into a whirlpool of complex emotions, and stars Kim Doyeon, formerly of the girl group I.O.I, alongside Japanese actress Ando Sakura, piquing curiosity.
Directors' week director Julien Reggiani said of Dora, "Through bold and original approaches, director Jung Joo-ri explores a young woman's desire and the passion and confusion that express itself as a result. I am very pleased to present this, her third feature and a work with a high level of completion, at Directors' Fortnight." Jung Joo-ri, together with Kim Doyeon and Ando Sakura, will answer questions from the global press in a conversation with the Directors' Fortnight chairperson immediately after the world premiere press screening on the 17th.
[Photos] OSEN DB, provided by each film's poster.
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