Berlin 2024: The buzz titles from Korea

Festival

Exhuma

Dir. Jang Jae-hyun
This mystery horror playing in Forum marks the first film in five years from Jang, director of Svaha: The Sixth Finger and The Priests. Starring Choi Min-sik of Oldboy and Kim Go-eun from TV’s Little Women, the story follows a wealthy family in Los Angeles who experience paranormal events and summon a shamanic duo to save their newborn baby. They sense a dark ancestor’s shadow and call in a geomancer and mortician to set about exhuming a grave in Korea — but unleash a malevolent force. The film is set for a local release on February 22.
Contact: Showbox

It’s Okay!

Dir. Kim Hye-young
Director Kim’s debut feature is a coming-of-age drama that plays in Generation Kplus, following its premiere at Busan in October. The story centres on a young student who secretly moves into the basement of a dance school after the death of her mother and threats of eviction. She is discovered by a strict choreographer at the school, who takes her in reluctantly. The film stars Lee Re and Jin Seo-yeon as the student and teacher respectively, and is produced by Song Won-seok for Seoul-based Twomen Film.
Contact: Twomen Film 

The Roundup: Punishment

Dir. Heo Myeong-haeng
This action feature, playing here as a Special Gala, is the fourth instalment in a hit franchise led by Don Lee (aka Ma Dong-seok) as the ‘Monster Cop’, who is tasked with taking down the head of an online gambling organisation, played by Kim Moo-yul. Director Heo is a well-known stunt co-ordinator who is expected to increase the intensity of fight scenes in the feature. Previous instalment The Roundup: No Way Out was the second-biggest film at the South Korean box office last year, while The Roundup was the biggest title of 2022. It is presented by ABO Entertainment and produced by Hong Film, Big Punch Pictures and B.A. Entertainment.
Contact: K-Movie Entertainment

A Traveler’s Needs

Dir. Hong Sangsoo
Berlinale regular Hong returns with his seventh film to compete for the Golden Bear. His latest is a light-hearted drama starring France’s Isabelle Huppert as a woman who becomes a French teacher for two Korean women after finding herself with no money or means of supporting herself. It marks the third collaboration between Huppert and Hong after In Another Country and Claire’s Camera, both of which were selected for Cannes. The cast also includes Lee Hyeyoung and Kwon Haehyo. It is produced by Jeonwonsa Film Co.
Contact: Finecut (international); Les Films Du Camelia (French-speaking territories, Germany, Romania)

Market 

Harbin

Dir. Woo Min-ho
This period spy thriller marks director Woo’s follow-up to 2021 Oscar submission The Man Standing Next. Set in 1909, the true story follows the leader of a group of independence fighters who is willing to give up his life in a plot to assassinate the main architect behind Japan’s colonisation of the Korean peninsula. The cast is led by Hyun Bin (Confidential Assignment), Park Jeong-min (Smugglers) and Jo Woo-jin (Hunt). Produced by Hive Media Corp, Harbin is planned for a 2024 release.
Contact: CJ ENM

Holy Night: Demon Hunters

Dir. Lim Dae-hee
Don Lee, star of blockbuster franchise The Roundup, leads this occult-themed action feature. Set in Seoul, the city descends into chaos as a devil-worshipping criminal network emerges, leading the police to enlist a trio of demon hunters with supernatural powers. The cast also includes Seohyun of K-pop group Girls Generation and Lee David, set to be seen in Squid Game season two. The film — which is in post-production — marks the feature debut of director Lim and is produced by Lee’s Big Punch Pictures and Nova Film.
Contact: Haewon Lee, Lotte Cultureworks 

The Killers

Dirs. Chang Hang-jun, Roh Deok, Sung Cho, Kim Jong-kwan, Yunyu, Lee Myung-Se
This anthology comprises six shorts with the shared theme of hitmen, ranging from a story set in the 1970s and a tale of three clumsy contract killers to one set on a spaceship. Directors include Chang of sports drama Rebound and veteran filmmaker Lee, known for crime drama M and action feature Duelist. The cast include Miss Granny star Shim Eun-kyung, Hong Xa-bin of Cannes 2023 title Hopeless, and Park Ho-san and Ko Chang-seok, both from Toronto 2022 thriller Project Wolf Hunting. The film is in post-production.
Contact: Showbox

Noise

Dir. Kim Soo-jin
This horror thriller marks the feature directorial debut of Kim and centres on a deaf woman trying to find her younger sister who has vanished in an apartment building plagued with mysterious noises and an eerie presence. It stars Lee Sun-bin (Mission: Possible) and Kim Min-seok (Body Parts). Produced by Studio Finecut, the film is in post-production.
Contact: Finecut 

Revolver

Dir. Oh Seung-uk
Cannes best actress winner Jeon Do-yeon (Secret Sunshine) reunites with director Oh, having previously starred in the filmmaker’s The Shameless, which played in Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 2015. Revolverstars Jeon as a former police officer out for revenge after serving a prison sentence for someone else and finding that the promised compensation has disappeared. The film also stars Ji Chang-wook of Netflix series Lovestruck In The City. It is produced by Sanai Pictures, which has had films such as The Shameless,Hopeless and Hunt selected for Cannes.
Contact: Plus M Entertainment

Sanbok Road

Dir. Kim See-woo
Inspired by the true story of young boxers in the 1980s who stirred up public excitement, the story centres on five friends in a poor village in Busan who use their fists to fight their way out of poverty. The cast includes Lee Ho-won (A Birth), Ahn Nae-sang, most recently seen in box-office leader 12.12: The Day, and Kim Won-hae of blockbuster Smugglers. It marks the latest feature of director Kim, whose Turandot premiered at Bucheon in 2022. Produced by Eloiworks and Metafullo Studio, the action drama is in post-production ahead of a planned release in April.
Contact: kt alpha  

The Secret House

Dir. Park Sang-min
This horror thriller is an adaptation of Sergio G Sanchez’s Marrowbone, which premiered at Toronto in 2017. It is the second feature from Park, whose satirical comedy I Haven’t Done Anything played the New York Asian Film Festival and Tallinn Black Nights in 2022. The story follows a young man who flees to Taiwan with his siblings after their serial-killer father is imprisoned. The cast is led by Lee Hong-nae and includes Taiwan’s Vivian Sung of Giddens Ko’s 2021 hit Till We Meet Again. The Secret House is in pre-production.
Contact: K-Movie Entertainment

Virus (working title)

Dir. Kang Yi-kwan
Director Kang, whose Juvenile Offender was South Korea’s submission to the 2014 Oscars, returns with the story of a mysterious virus that makes the infected feel the emotion of love until it amplifies and kills them. The cast is led by Kim Yun-seok from Cannes titles The Yellow Sea and The Chaser, and Bae Doo-na from multiple Cannes selections such as Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Broker and Bong Joon Ho’s The Host. They play respectively a scientist and pessimistic woman with a special antibody who questions the love she begins to feel. Virus is in post-production ahead of a planned release this year.
Contact: Contents Panda 

You Will Die In 6 Hours

Dir. Lee Yun-seok
This mystery thriller stars Jeong Jae-hyun, known as Jaehyun from hit K-pop boy band NCT, in his debut feature. He plays a man who can apparently see into the future and warns a stranger, played by Park Ju-hyun, that she will be killed in six hours. It marks the second feature of director Lee after 2014’s Yuko’s Diary and is in post-production ahead of a release in Q3 2024.
Contact: M-Line Distribution 

Yumi’s Cells: The Movie

Dir. Kim Da-hee
This 3D animation is based on the hit webtoon and TV series, which is broadcast in more than 160 countries on platforms including iQiyi and Prime Video. The story of Yumi is told from the point of view of her brain cells, which are driven by the need to bring her joy. Director Kim worked on the series, and the film is produced by Locus Animation (Red Shoes And The Seven Dwarfs) and Studio N. It is in post-production ahead of a planned release in 2024.
Contact: Barunson E&A

• Berlin 2024: Screen’s dailies