“Juvenile Offender” Vies for Sakura Grand Pix at Tokyo Int’l Film Fest

Actress Lee Jung-hyun (left) and actor Seo Young-ju (right) take a photo with a cell phone during the shooting of "Juvenile Offender," to open in local theaters on November, 2012. [Time Story]

Korean actress Lee Jung-hyun’s new film project in 11 years is about to steal the limelight at the 25th Tokyo International Film Festival [TIFF].

“Juvenile Offender," which goes around the story of juvenile offender getting trapped in an irreversible cycle of degeneration, was the only Korean film invited to the Competition category at this year's TIFF opening from October 20 to 28, the pic's distribution firm Time Story said in a press release Monday.

The crime movie is the first Korean film invited to the fest after director Hong Sang-soo's "A Scent of Woman," the award-winning pic for the
Lee and the director Kang Yi-kwan of "Sa-kwa" (2008) will meet the audiences themselves at the festival on October 25 and 26, the company added.

Touching sensitive social issues such as juvenile crimes and single mother issues, “Juvenile Offender” tells the story of a teenage boy on probation.

His mother [played by Lee], who Ji-gu thought was dead, finds out to have given birth to him at age 17, reappears and they try to make up with each other for their time lost.

The film will vie with other 16 movies for a total of seven awards including the top prize, dubbed Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix, and the people’s choice for their favorite pic, the Audience award.

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