6 Korean movies to be screened at Berlin Film Festival

Six South Korean films will be shown at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, which opens Thursday, including the latest feature from prolific auteur Hong Sang-soo.

Hong’s “A Traveler’s Needs,” starring Isabelle Huppert, Lee Hye-young and Kwon Hae-hyo, will compete in the competition category. The film is Hong’s third collaboration with the French actress who portrays a French teacher for two Korean women.

The director has had six films in the festival’s competition category since 2008. He has won four Silver Bear awards from the event so far, starting with “On the Beach at Night Alone” in 2017, which earned its lead actress, Kim Min-hee, the Silver Bear for Best Actress. In 2022, Hong received the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize for “The Novelist’s Film.”

The action comedy “The Roundup: Punishment,” starring Don Lee, will be featured in the special gala section, and the Mystery thriller “Exhuma,” starring the Old Boy actor Choi Min-sik, will be shown in the forum category.

“Circle,” an animation directed by Joung Yu-mi and Kim Hye-young’s “It’s Okay!” were invited to compete in the shorts and generation competition sections, respectively.

Also, the documentary “Voices of the Silenced,” a collection of interviews with Koreans who suffered during Japan’s colonial rule, was invited to the forum special section.

This year’s film festival will run through Feb. 25.