Park Chan-wook, Na Hong-jin, and Jun Ji-hyun Take Over! Korean Cinema Makes a Grand Return to the 79th Cannes Film Festival

The 79th Cannes Film Festival, one of the world’s top three film festivals, kicks off its 11-day journey starting with the opening ceremony on May 12th at 7 PM (local time).

Unlike last year, where no Korean works were selected, this year sees three Korean films making their world premieres at Cannes. Top Korean stars will also attend in droves, making sure the presence of “Korean cinema” is felt on the global stage. Most notably, the festival holds special meaning for fans as director Park Chan-wook, affectionately known as “Cannes Park,” serves as the Jury President for the competition section.

The Korean films heading to the 79th Cannes Film Festival are Na Hong-jin’s ‘Hope’, Yeon Sang-ho’s ‘Colony’, and Jung Ju-ri’s ‘Dora’.

‘Hope’ has been selected for the competition section, where it will battle it out for the prestigious Palme d’Or. This marks the first time in four years that a Korean film has entered the competition since Park Chan-wook’s ‘Decision to Leave’.

The film will first meet audiences on May 17th at 9:30 PM at the Lumière Grand Theatre, the main screening venue. The following day, an official photocall and press conference are scheduled. Director Na Hong-jin will attend along with lead actors Hwang Jung-min, Jo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, as well as Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, and Taylor Russell.

‘Hope’ is director Na’s first new work in 10 years since ‘The Wailing’ (2016). Filming wrapped in early 2024, followed by a long editing process of about two years. The production budget is reportedly around 50 billion KRW.

The story begins with Beom-seok (played by Hwang Jung-min), the head of the Hopo-hang outpost in the Demilitarized Zone, who hears news from local youths about a tiger appearing. As the whole village goes on high alert, he faces an unbelievable reality. The distributor, Plus M Entertainment, recently released the first official still showing the tense moments of the Hopo-hang residents facing something unknown. The runtime for the Cannes submission is 160 minutes (2 hours 40 minutes).

On its official website, the Cannes Film Festival describes ‘Hope’ as a story where “outpost chief Beom-seok and officer Seong-ae (played by Jung Ho-yeon) struggle to protect a village where only the elderly remain, while Seong-gi (played by Jo In-sung) and residents who set out to track a monster in the mountains find themselves being hunted instead.” It adds that “what began from ignorance becomes the seed of disaster, passing through conflicts between humans and eventually escalating into a tragedy of cosmic proportions.”

Invited to the ‘Midnight Screening’ section, ‘Colony’ will make its debut on May 16th at 12:30 AM. This is director Yeon Sang-ho’s latest zombie film following ‘Train to Busan’ (2016) and ‘Peninsula’ (2020), and marks Jun Ji-hyun’s first return to the big screen since ‘Assassination’ (2015). The film depicts a fierce struggle for survival inside a building isolated by a mysterious mass infection.

Leading the way with director Yeon, the main cast of ‘Colony’ including Jun Ji-hyun, Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Chang-wook, Shin Hyun-bin, and Kim Shin-rok will all visit Cannes to light up the red carpet.

Jun Ji-hyun shared her excitement via distributor Showbox, saying, “I’m thrilled to present my first collaboration with director Yeon Sang-ho on such a meaningful stage. I will show the power of Korean genre cinema.” Koo Kyo-hwan added, “I’m curious about how it will resonate with local audiences. I plan to fully enjoy this precious moment.”

Director Jung Ju-ri’s third feature film, ‘Dora’, will have its world premiere on May 17th. Invited to the Director’s Fortnight, the film tells the story of Dora, who suffers from an unknown illness and begins to see her world shake as she experiences love for the first time. Director Jung will attend along with leads Kim Do-yeon and Sakura Ando.

Previously, director Jung’s debut ‘Do-hee’ (2014) was invited to ‘Un Certain Regard’, and in 2022, ‘Next Sohee’ was selected as the closing film for the Critics’ Week. With this latest invitation, director Jung becomes the first Korean female director to have all three of her feature films screened at Cannes.

Julian Lie, the Director’s Fortnight executive director, introduced ‘Dora’ as “a very free and contemporary adaptation of Freud’s Dora case study from 1900,” adding that “young Dora, who gathers with family and friends for a summer break, becomes the figure who triggers all the passions of this small world.”

Additionally, director Choi Won-jung’s 3D animation ‘Rhapsody of a Bird’ from Hongik University’s Visual Communication Design department entered the student short film competition ‘La Cinef’, and Ubark Studio’s extended reality (XR) work ‘Buuu-Piii’ was invited to the Immersive competition. ‘The Dream is a Snail’ by director Nguyen Tien Anh, supported by the ‘Korea-Vietnam Youth Dream-Growing Short Film Production Support Project’ operated by the CJ Cultural Foundation, was also officially invited to the short film competition.

The jury for the competition section of this year’s Cannes Film Festival will be led by director Park Chan-wook. While Korean filmmakers have served as jurors six times in the past, this is the first time a Korean has been appointed as the Jury President. Director Park previously served as a juror for the competition section at the 70th Cannes Film Festival.

Director Park has a special bond with the festival, earning him the nickname “Cannes Park.” He first established his connection with the festival in 2004 by winning the Grand Prix for ‘Oldboy’, followed by ‘Thirst’ (2009) and ‘The Handmaiden’ (2016). At the 75th Cannes Film Festival in 2022, ‘Decision to Leave’ won the Best Director award.

Director Park will announce this year’s Palme d’Or winner at the closing ceremony on May 23rd at the Lumière Grand Theatre. Last year’s top honor at the 78th Cannes Film Festival went to director Jafar Panahi’s ‘Just an Accident’.

Meanwhile, Korean-Korean actor Park Ji-min, who is primarily active in France, has been named as a juror for the Short Film and La Cinef sections. Park Ji-min played ‘Gina’, a character who shakes up the protagonist’s life, in ‘The Season Fatima Loved’, which won Best Actress and the Queer Palme at last year’s Cannes competition.