▲ This file photo shows the Grand Auditorium Louis Lumière in Cannes when "Okja" was screened in 2017. (Yonhap)

 

 

SEOUL, May 17 (Yonhap) – This year's 75th Cannes International Film Festival will kick off its journey of 12 days at the Grand Auditorium Louis Lumière in Cannes, the southeastern French resort city, on May 17 at 7 p.m(local time).

The Cannes Film Festival, which is most prestigious among the world's three major film festivals, was canceled and postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is scheduled to be held as planned in three years.

The opening film is the zombie comedy film "Final Cut,” directed by Michel Hazanavicius, who won five categories at the U.S. Academy Awards for "The Artist,” which was released in 2012.
 

In the official competition section, 21 films, including the Korean films "Decision to Leave" and "Broker," will compete for the Palme d’Or, the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It is the first time in five years that two Korean titles have been invited to the official competition section at the same time since 2017, when "Okja"(Bong Joon-ho) and "The Day After"(Hong Sang-soo) made the list.  

 

▲ This photo, provided by CJ ENM, shows "Decision to Leave." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

“Decision to Leave,” directed by Park Chan-wook, depicts the story of a detective Hae-jun, who investigates the murder case in the mountains, developing an interest in the dead man’s mysterious wife Seo Rae. The film stars Park Hae-il and Tang Wei. Director Park, who won the second-highest honor of Grand Prix for "Oldboy"(2004) and took the Jury Prize for "Thirst" (2009), entered the fourth competition section in six years since the psychological thriller "The Handmaiden" in 2016.

“Broker” is written and directed by Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, who won the Palme d'Or for "Shoplifters" in 2018. Although it was directed by a Japanese director, it is a Korean film starring Song Kang-ho, Gang Dong-won, Bae Doo-na, Lee Ji-eun(IU), and Lee Joo-young and it is produced by Zip Cinema.

Director Kore-eda wrote the script under the theme of baby box, which has become a social problem in both Korea and Japan. Song Kang-ho is expected to hit Cannes’ red carpet for the seventh time this year, following last year when he served as a jury member.

"Decision to Leave" and "Broker" will have their world premiere at the Grand Auditorium Louis Lumière in Cannes on May 23 and 26, respectively. French actor Vincent Lindon of “Titane,” which won the Palme d'Or last year, has been named president of the jury.

 

▲ This photo, provided by CJ ENM, shows "Broker." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
In addition to "Broker," various Palme d'Or-winning films, such as Dardenne brothers’ "Tori and Lokita," Cristian Mungiu’s "R.M.N," and Ruben Östlund’s "Triangle of Sadness,” have entered the competition section. James Gray of “Armageddon Time” and David Cronenberg of “Crimes of the Future” will compete for their first Palme d'Or.

S. Korean spy action film “Hunt,” directed by Lee Jung-jae in his feature directorial debut, will be invited to the non-competitive Midnight Screening section, which will screen genre films late at night, marking the first audience on May 20 at midnight. Lee Jung-jae and Jung Woo-sung worked together for the first time in more than 20 years since the film "City of the Rising Sun"(1999). They played the ace agents of National Security Agency who hunt for a North Korean spy chief in South.

“Next Sohee,” directed by filmmaker July Jung, starring Bae Doo-na has been selected as a closing film for the 75th Cannes Film Festival’s parallel sidebar Critics’ Week. It is the new film of director Jung, who was invited to the Remarkable Eyes section of the 67th Cannes Film Festival for “A Girl at My Next Door” in 2014. Bae Doo-na has been invited to Cannes with two films, including “Broker,” where she also played the detective. Meanwhile, S. Korean journalist and Busan Festival’s topper Huh Monn-yung has been appointed as a jury for this year’s Critics’ Week.

Director Moon Soo-jin’s short animation “Keratin” has been invited to the competition section. Besides, the film “ALL THE PEOPLE I’LL NEVER BE,” directed by French filmmaker, starring Kim Sun-young and Oh Kwang-rok has entered the “Un Certain Regard” section of the Cannes Film Festival.

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Kim Sun Min.)

 

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