[Focus] Hot K-Movies Again This Year, Who Will Attend the Cannes Film Festival?

May 16 Opening in Cannes, Southern France
Song Kang-ho, Song Joong-ki, Kim Min-hee, Lee Sun-kyun, Jennie, and others
Masters Hong Sang-soo, Kim Ji-woon → Newcomers Kim Chang-hoon, Yoo Jae-sun
No Competition But, Status of Korean Films Changed

Korean cinema has achieved remarkable success at Cannes over the past few years. The Cannes Film Festival, considered one of the world's top three film festivals, is a prestigious and conservative festival with unmatched authority. Recently, Korean films have swept major awards such as the Palme d'Or, Best Director, and Best Actor. Although there are no competition entries this year, key figures leading Chungmuro are expected to shine as surprise cards at Cannes.

The 76th Cannes Film Festival will be held from May 16 to 27 in the southern French city of Cannes. The opening film is Jeanne du Barry (directed by Ma?wenn), and the jury president is Swedish director Ruben ?stlund, who won the Palme d'Or last year for Triangle of Sadness.

Earlier, on the afternoon of the 13th (Korean time), the Cannes Film Festival Secretariat held a press conference to announce the official selection for the 76th festival. Thierry Fr?maux, the festival’s executive director, announced that Korean films Gami Jip (directed by Kim Ji-woon) and Hwaran (directed by Kim Chang-hoon) were invited to the non-competition section and the Un Certain Regard section, respectively. Jam (directed by Yoo Jae-sun), starring Lee Sun-kyun and Jung Yu-mi, was selected for the Critics' Week, and Uri-ui Haru by Hong Sang-soo and Kim Min-hee was chosen as the closing film for the Directors' Fortnight.

Song Joong-ki’s Hwaran Invited to Un Certain Regard

'Hwalan' still image [Photo by Plus M Entertainment]

Director Kim Chang-hoon’s feature debut Hwaran is a noir film depicting the story of a boy named Yeon-gyu who wants to escape a hellish reality and meets the gang’s middle boss Chigeon, leading them into a precarious world. The film stars actor Song Joong-ki, newcomer Hong Sa-bin, and Bibi. Director Kim was also nominated for the Cam?ra d'Or, an award given to first-time directors at Cannes.

The Un Certain Regard section, to which Hwaran was invited, is dedicated to discovering talented young directors and showcasing films with originality and aesthetic excellence. Past Korean films invited to this section include Bong Joon-ho’s Mother (2009) and Na Hong-jin’s The Yellow Sea (2010). Korean films Ha Ha Ha (2010) and Arirang (2011) have won the top prize in this category.

Actor Song Joong-ki and director Kim Chang-hoon are attending Cannes for the first time in their careers with this film. The main cast of Hwaran plans to participate in key events including the official screenings.

Song Kang-ho and Kim Ji-woon Return to Cannes After 15 Years

Actor Song Kang-ho [Photo by AP·Yonhap News]

Film collaborators director Kim Ji-woon and actor Song Kang-ho are heading to Cannes for the first time in 15 years since The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008). They have worked together on five films including Quiet Family (1998), Beat (2000), The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008), and The Age of Shadows (2016), with Gami Jip being their fifth collaboration.

Gami Jip, invited to the non-competition section, is set in the 1970s and tells the story of director Kim (played by Song Kang-ho), who is obsessed with reshooting the ending of his completed film Gami Jip to make it better, facing censorship interference and difficulties with actors and producers who do not understand the changes. The cast includes Song Kang-ho, Im Soo-jung, Oh Jung-se, Jeon Yeo-been, and Jung Soo-jung.

Director Kim Ji-woon has been invited to Cannes three times, including for A Bittersweet Life (2005) and The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008).

Song Kang-ho is attending Cannes for the eighth time, breaking the record for the most invitations for a Korean actor, with previous films including The Host (2006), Miryang (2007), The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008), Thirst (2009), Parasite (2019), Emergency Declaration (2021), and Broker (2022).

This Year’s Hot Star: The Idol

Last year’s Cannes stars were actors Lee Jung-jae and Tom Cruise. Invited for Hunt and Top Gun: Maverick, respectively, both received intense attention during the festival.

Lee Jung-jae rose to global stardom with Squid Game, drawing attention wherever he went and heating up the atmosphere. On the official screening day of Tom Cruise’s produced Top Gun: Maverick, fighter jets performed an airshow, marking an unprecedented entrance. This year, the team behind The Idol is expected to be the surprise star.

Jennie [Photo by YG Entertainment]

Invited to the non-competition section, HBO’s The Idol is set against the Los Angeles (LA) music scene and tells the story of a popular female singer’s music and love life. The series is produced by Canadian pop star The Weeknd and directed by Sam Levinson of Euphoria.

In Korea, it has attracted attention as the acting debut of BLACKPINK’s Jennie. Hollywood actress Lily-Rose Depp, daughter of Johnny Depp, stars in the lead role, with Troy Sivan and Dan Levy also appearing, drawing considerable interest.

The main cast of The Idol is expected to walk the red carpet and receive enthusiastic cheers. There is growing anticipation to see if Jennie will stand shoulder to shoulder with them.

Lee Sun-kyun and Jung Yu-mi’s Jam Invited to Critics' Week

Still from 'Jam'
[Photo by Lotte Entertainment]

The film Jam, starring Lee Sun-kyun and Jung Yu-mi, was invited to Critics' Week. Critics' Week focuses on discovering new talent and selects only first or second films by directors worldwide. Korean films previously invited include Heo Jin-ho’s Christmas in August (1998), Jung Ji-woo’s Happy End (1999), and Han Joon-hee’s Chinatown (2015).

Jung Yu-mi has been invited four times, including for My Dear Enemy (2009), In Another Country (2012), and Train to Busan (2016), while Lee Sun-kyun has been invited three times, including for A Hard Day (2014) and Parasite (2019).

Director Yoo Jae-sun was also nominated for the Cam?ra d'Or, awarded annually to the most promising first-time director. The Cam?ra d'Or selects one outstanding debut feature from all first-time directors invited across the competition, Un Certain Regard, Critics' Week, and Directors' Fortnight sections.

Jam tells the story of a happily married couple, Hyun-soo and Su-jin, who are plagued by Hyun-soo’s abnormal sleep behaviors and terrifying secrets that begin the moment he falls asleep.

Hong Sang-soo and Kim Min-hee Attend Cannes Together After 6 Years

Sangsoo Hong (left) and Minhee Kim
Photo by AFP and Yonhap News

Director Hong Sang-soo and actress Kim Min-hee will attend the Cannes Film Festival together for the first time in six years. Hong’s 30th film, Uri-ui Haru (Our Day), was invited as the closing film for the Directors' Fortnight.

The Directors' Fortnight was established in 1969 by the French Directors Guild to showcase films distinct from the main Cannes program, focusing on discovering progressive and innovative films with vision.

Hong Sang-soo has been invited to Cannes 12 times, including for The Power of Kangwon Province (1988), O! Lucky Day (2000), Woman Is the Future of Man (2004), Night and Day (2005), Like You Know It All (2008), Ha Ha Ha (2010), In Another Country (2011), Our Sunhi (2012), Claire’s Camera (2017), On the Beach at Night Alone (2017), and Introduction (2021).

Additionally, this year’s closing film is Disney·Pixar’s animated feature Elemental (directed by Peter Sohn).

Disney·Pixar’s 27th feature film Elemental is the fourth Disney·Pixar film to be invited to Cannes, following Up (2009), Inside Out (2015), and Soul (2021).

Also, the film Jeunghoone starring actor Kim Cheol-yoon was invited to this year’s Short Film Corner and will be screened at 1 a.m. on the 24th of next month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.