Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Hoyeon, Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Taylor Russell to appear on red carpet
Na Hong-jin's long-gestating blockbuster "Hope" will have its world premiere on May 17 at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, with the director joined on the red carpet by stars Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Hoyeon, Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander and Taylor Russell, distributor Plus M Entertainment said Friday.
In competition, "Hope" will have its first screening at the Grand Theatre Lumiere, the festival's main venue, at 9:30 p.m. that night. A photo call and press conference will follow on May 18.
"Hope" is the first Korean film to vie for the Palme d'Or since Park Chan-wook's "Decision to Leave" in 2022. Park returns to Cannes this year as the jury president, becoming the first Korean filmmaker to hold the post.
Na's first feature since 2016's occult thriller "The Wailing," "Hope" follows Beom-seok (Hwang), the chief of a police outpost in an isolated coastal village near the Demilitarized Zone, whose investigation into a reported tiger sighting spirals into an extraterrestrial encounter.
Fassbender and Vikander reportedly used motion- and facial-capture to play the aliens.
"Hope" is said to be the most expensive Korean production to date, with a budget north of $34 million. It was shot in 2023 and 2024, but the drawn-out postproduction kept the film practically under wraps until its Cannes selection.
Festival director Thierry Fremaux has praised the film for reshaping its genre and telling a story unlike anything attempted before, according to Plus M.
Two other Korean titles round out this year's selection: Yeon Sang-ho's "Colony" in the midnight screenings section and July Jung's "Dora" in the Directors' Fortnight section.
The 79th Cannes Film Festival begins Tuesday and runs to May 23.
moonkihoon@heraldcorp.com
