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Park Chan-wook’s ‘No Other Choice’ heads to Venice competition
Director Park Chan-wook’s upcoming feature "No Other Choice" has been selected for the main competition at the 82nd Venice Film Festival, festival organizers announced Tuesday evening during a livestream unveiling the official lineup. An adaptation of Donald Westlake’s 1996 novel "The Ax," "No Other Choice" follows a laid-off middle-aged man who begins eliminating rival job candidates to secure employment and support his family. Lee Byung-hun stars alongside Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-m
July 22, 2025 -
Two Korean titles join Toronto film fest lineup
South Korean films "The Ugly" and "Project Y" have been selected for the Special Presentations section at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival, distributor Plus M Entertainment said Tuesday. Directed by Yeon Sang-ho ("Train to Busan," "Hellbound"), "The Ugly" is adapted from Yeon's 2018 graphic novel of the same name. The mystery thriller follows a blind seal engraving artisan and his son as they investigate the disappearance of their wife and mother. Kwon Hae-hyo plays the blind craftsm
July 22, 2025 -
DMZ Docs unveils International, Frontier Competition selections
The DMZ International Documentary Film Festival (DMZ Docs) has announced the International and Frontier competition lineups for its upcoming 17th edition, presenting works that explore the aftermaths of historical conflict and their broader implications for global communities. A total of 18 titles were selected from over 600 submissions by the festival’s programming committee, which includes chief programmer Jang Byung-won, programmer Kang Jin-seok and film critic Lee Seung-min. Ten films will c
July 22, 2025 -
Megabox to exclusively release Cannes-winning short ‘First Summer’ on Aug. 6
Multiplex chain Megabox will exclusively screen "First Summer," the Korean short film that won top prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival's La Cinef competition, starting Aug. 6, the company announced Tuesday. The 31-minute short from Korean Academy of Film Arts graduate Heo Ga-young will screen across around 50 Megabox theaters nationwide. Tickets will be priced at 3,000 won. "First Summer" made history in May as the first Korean film to win the top award in La Cinef, the Cannes section dedi
July 22, 2025 -
Interview: Lee Min-ho's curious antihero turn
Lee Min-ho needs no introduction in Korea’s entertainment world. Since his breakout as the imperious, poodle-permed Gu Jun-pyo in "Boys Over Flowers" at 22, he’s cornered the market on romantic leads: the tortured chaebol in "The Heirs," the morally ambiguous mogul in "Pachinko," the starry-eyed astronaut in the recent flop "When the Stars Gossip." Always the hero, always front and center. But for a star who’s built his career on main character energy, this latest role marks a left turn. In "Omn
July 20, 2025 -
Movies in theaters this week
"The King of Kings" (US/South Korea) Opened July 16 Drama/Religious Directed by Jang Seong-ho Charles Dickens (Lee Byung-hun) recounts the story of Jesus Christ (Jin Sun-kyu) to his son in this animated adaptation of the New Testament, based on Dickens' book "The Life of Our Lord." "Superman" (US) Opened July 9 Action/Fantasy Directed by James Gunn Clark Kent (David Corenswet) battles tech billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) as he navigates his dual identity as Superman in this DC Universe r
July 18, 2025 -
Interview: Ahn Hyo-seop on playing everyone and no one
Ahn Hyo-seop sits at the Samcheong-dong cafe looking every inch the K-pop idol he once trained to be — even in glasses and a casual sweater, he carries that unmistakable aura. The kind that makes heads turn. Which presents a problem, considering he's about to promote his role as Kim Dok-ja, who's supposed to be the definitively unglamorous protagonist of the upcoming blockbuster "Omniscient Reader: The Prophet." The film, adapted from the wildly popular web novel and later web comic, follows an
July 17, 2025 -
Finest chillers for summer
Summer in South Korea brings a peculiar cultural tradition: Everyone heads to the cinema for a good scare. It's a seasonal ritual where horror films provide an icy jolt to counter the sweltering heat, trading a cool breeze for shivers down the spine. With scorching heat waves expected, it's the perfect time to explore some home-grown horror that will make you forget just how unbearably muggy it is outside. Korean horror has carved out a distinctive niche in the genre, favoring psychological drea
July 17, 2025 -
Review: 'Omniscient Reader' bets big on franchise dreams, comes up snake eyes
"Honestly, I'm quite desperate. Please help us out here." Director Kim Byung-woo's closing plea at Tuesday's press conference for "Omniscient Reader: The Prophet" at Megabox Coex carried more weight than your typical promotional patter. With a reported 30 billion won ($22 million) production budget requiring at least 6 million admissions to break even, Kim has every reason to sweat. In a year where theaters are experiencing their worst slump in decades, with "Mission: Impossible's" 3.39 million
July 16, 2025 -
'KPop Demon Hunters’ cast and directors break down Netflix hit’s worldbuilding
The creative team behind Netflix's record-breaking animated hit "KPop Demon Hunters" pulled back the curtain on their demon-slaying spectacle in a new behind-the-scenes video released Friday. Directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, alongside voice stars Arden Cho, May Hong, Yoo Ji-young and Ahn Hyo-seop, dished on everything from character design to cultural representation in the clip, which details the meticulous world-building that went into the project. "I've always wanted to make an anima
July 11, 2025 -
Frederick Wiseman's complete works to tour Korea in landmark retrospective
The 17th DMZ International Documentary Film Festival (DMZ Docs) announced Thursday a complete touring showcase of Frederick Wiseman's 45-film catalog, set to launch this September and continuing through July 2026. The 95-year-old Boston native, often called America's greatest living documentarian, has spent nearly six decades creating what he terms "reality fictions" -- observational studies of American life through the lens of its institutions: schools, hospitals, welfare offices, courts and mi
July 11, 2025 -
Review: 'Spring Night' a drink-soaked exercise in aesthetic masochism
If alcoholism is a pathology that corrodes the soul with insidious inevitability, "Spring Night" -- director Kang Mi-ja's second feature after a 17-year hiatus -- is cinema's manifestation of that harrowing condition, in both form and content. Fresh from its run at the Berlinale's Forum section earlier this year, this 67-minute exercise embodies the endless cycle of addiction down to its very bones. Rarely does a film mirror its subject matter with such uncanny fidelity, but the effect proves de
July 10, 2025 -
Lim Yoon-a leads genre-bending 'Pretty Crazy' from hitmaker behind 'Exit'
Never mind red flags — picture the girl next door turning into a demon at night. In "Pretty Crazy," Lim Yoon-a takes on a dual persona in this genre-blending summer entry from the team behind "Exit." "Pretty Crazy" centers on Gil-goo (Ahn Bo-hyun), who falls for Seon-ji (Lim Yoon-a), a new tenant living one floor below. But the budding romance takes a sharp turn when Gil-goo discovers that Seon-ji transforms into a demon each night. Her father soon ropes Gil-goo into the part-time job of protect
July 9, 2025 -
Award-winning Korean short films set to screen at Paris cinematheque
Four award-winning Korean short films from the 41st Busan International Short Film Festival will screen at the prestigious Cinematheque Francaise in Paris, festival officials announced Monday. Scheduled for Monday at 7 p.m., local time, the special program marks the third consecutive year the festival has been invited to present its selections at the renowned Paris venue. The screening will take place in the Cinematheque’s Jean Epstein room, named after the French avant-garde cinema pioneer. Lea
July 7, 2025 -
We’re seeing AI-enhanced workflows, not replacement: Storytek CEO Sten-Kristian Saluveer
BUCHEON, Gyeonggi Province -- The 29th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival opened Thursday with a bold statement on cinema's future, selecting as its opening film "About a Hero" -- a hybrid documentary by Piotr Winiewicz featuring an AI-generated screenplay trained on Werner Herzog's complete filmography. The festival's commitment to exploring artificial intelligence runs deep, with 11 AI films among its 217-title program and a three-day conference dedicated to examining how the techno
July 6, 2025