Director Jung Ju-ri is heading back to the Cannes Film Festival with her latest work, ‘Dora’.
‘Dora’ tells the story of a family who leaves Seoul for a summer beach villa. While there, Dora, who suffers from an unknown illness, experiences love for the first time, causing everything to slowly begin to shift. The film stars Kim Do-yeon and Ando Sakura.
Director Jung Ju-ri has a long-standing relationship with the Cannes Film Festival. Her feature debut ‘Han Gong-ju’ (2014) was featured in the ‘Notable Perspective’ section, her second feature ‘Next Sohee’ (2022) was selected as the closing film for Critics’ Week, and now ‘Dora’ has been officially invited to Directors’ Fortnight.
Director Jung Ju-ri shared her excitement, stating, “I am happy to be able to release the film as soon as it was completed. I look forward to meeting audiences from all over the world and returning quickly to greet our audiences in Korea.”
Kim Do-yeon, who plays the title role of ‘Dora’ and will step on the Cannes red carpet for the first time in her life, shared, “The fact that my first Cannes experience begins with Dora’s first steps holds a great deal of meaning for me. Director Jung Ju-ri allowed me to fully breathe as Dora on set, and Ando Sakura sunbaenim awakened me with a new breath in every scene. I am excited to see what it will be like when the Cannes audience meets Dora. I hope the time we spent together reaches them honestly.”
Ando Sakura, who plays the role of ‘Nami’, returns to Cannes following ‘Shoplifters’ (2018) and ‘Monster’ (2023). Making her first appearance in a Korean film through ‘Dora’, she expressed her hopes, saying, “Last summer, even in a situation where we didn’t speak the same language, I found myself looking more deeply at my surroundings in an effort to share my heart. While films convey messages beyond language and culture, I realized that the space in front of the camera is also a place where hearts can be shared without words. I sincerely look forward to meeting you all at my first Directors’ Fortnight screening.”
‘Dora’ is an international co-production project involving four countries: Korea, France, Luxembourg, and Japan. Led by Korea’s REDPETER FILMS, the project also involved The French Connection and ARTE FRANCE CINÉMA from France, and Les Films Fauves from Luxembourg.
Production staff from various countries also participated in filming and post-production. French cinematographer Irina Lubtchansky captured the delicate textures of the female characters’ bodies and emotions. The collaboration crossed borders, with visual effects (VFX) handled in Korea and France, sound work in Korea and Luxembourg, and color grading in France.
Following its world premiere at Cannes, ‘Dora’ is scheduled to be released in Korea in the second half of 2026.
