Bong Joon-ho’s dystopian sci-fi thriller “Snowpiercer” has been officially invited to this year’s Berlin International Film Festival, according to the film’s producer CJ Entertainment.

The film, which is also Bong’s English language debut, will get special gala screenings at the festival’s “Forum” sidebar from Feb. 7 to 8.

The International Forum of New Cinema of Berlinale, “Forum” in short, is dedicated to featuring experimental works as well as historically significant films. Kim Tae-yong’s “Late Autumn” and Kim Joong-hyun’s “Choked” have been previously featured in the section.

Based on the 1984 French graphic novel “La Transperceneige,” Bong’s “Snowpiercer” tells the story of a post-apocalyptic future in which the surviving humans live on a train divided by social class after the arrival of a new ice age.

The film, featuring an international cast including Tilda Swinton, Song Kang-ho and John Hurt, was both a critical and commercial success in Korea, garnering 9.3 million viewers.

Bong, Hurt, Swinton, Song and co-star Ko A-sung will attend the Berlin screening, along with Park Chan-wook, who is one of the producers of the film, and Jean-Marc Rochette, the author of the original graphic novel.

The film is to be released in countries including Japan, China, Germany and Italy starting next month.

Aside from “Snowpiercer,” a number of Korean films have been invited to this year’s Berlinale. Gina Kim’s “Final Recipe” will open the festival’s Culinary Cinema program, which focuses on films about food or the food industry, while Leesong Hee-il’s “Night Flight” will be screened at the Panorama section, which is devoted to art house cinema.

This year’s Berlinale runs from Feb. 6 to 14.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)