Netflix showcased its Korean film slate for the coming year at an event in Busan, including Lost In Starlight, the first Korean-language animated feature to be produced by the streamer.
Directors from seven films set to release on the platform next year attended the event, held during Busan International Film Festival, to discuss their upcoming projects.
Lost In Starlight will mark the feature debut of director Han Ji-won and follows the long-distance relationship between an astronaut, voiced by Kim Tae-ri of The Handmaiden, and a musician, voiced by Hong Kyung of TV’s Revenant.
Also on the slate is Revelations, a new thriller from Yeon Sang-ho, director of Train To Busan and Netflix series Hellbound - whose second season premieres in Busan - and Parasite: The Grey. The film reunites Yeon with Hellbound co-writer Choi Gyu-seok, and stars Ryu Jun-yeol (The Night Owl) and Shin Hyun- (Hospital Playlist).
They respectively play a pastor pursuing justice after the disappearance of his young son and a detective working on the case. Introducing the project, Yeon pointed to changing audience habits and the challenges of “translating the cinematic experience through a phone screen”.
Introducing his disaster thriller The Great Flood, which follows the fight to save a child after a flood has swept the planet, director Kim Byung-woo (The Terror Live) agreed that audience demands are setting a new tone.
“It seems we’re beyond discussing how cinema and Netflix films differ, audiences have made their decision,” he said. “The challenge is now to make films that will excite audiences.” The Great Flood stars Kim Da-mi (The Witch: Part 1 - The Subversion) and Park Hae-soo of Netflix series Squid Game and Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area.
International reaction
Also on the slate is Good News, a plane hijacking thriller set in 1970 from director Byun Sung-hyun, who worked with Netflix on last year’s actioner Kill Boksoon which premiered at Berlin. Speaking of the benefits of working with the streamer, Byun said that “being able to immediately access the reaction of foreign audiences is a refreshing experience.”
Good News reunites the filmmaker with star Sul Kyung-gu for the fourth time following The Merciless, Kingmaker and Kill Boksoon. The cast also includes Hong Kyung (Weak Hero Class 1) and Ryoo Seung-bum (Moving).
Byun has also co-written action thriller Mantis (working title), directed and co-written by first-timer Lee Tae-sung. A spin-off film set in the criminal universe established by Kill Boksoon – on which Lee served as assistant director – Mantis stars Im Si-wan as an assassin returning to work after a hiatus.
Entirely set within the confines of an apartment complex, Wall To Wall stars Kang Ha-neul as a man who buys an apartment but is plagued by mysterious noises from neighbouring floors. Seo Hyun-woo (Decision To Leave) and Yeom Hye-ran (The Glory) also star. Director Kim Tae-joon previously worked with Netflix on 2023 thriller Unlocked.
Rounding out the titles was romantic drama Love Untangled, directed by Namkoong Sun. Set in 1998, the story follows a high school girl as she musters up the courage to confess her crush on a classmate. The film reunites Homme Fatale co-stars Shin Eun-soo and Gong Myoung, who is also a member of pop group 5urprise.
In introducing the slate, Kim Taewon, director of content and business at Netflix Korea, emphasised their ambitious goal to “increase diversity across different genres [and] make films that won’t age in a decade, even a century’s time.”
Netflix has had a notably increased presence at this year’s BIFF. Netflix original Uprising played as the opening night film of the festival and the streamer has partnered with BIFF to host the first Creative Asia Forum, featuring workshops and masterclass conversations with leading creators from the Asia Pacific region.
The festival will also host the 6th Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards on Sunday (October 6), where the nominations are led by Netflix series Cigarette Girl.
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