'Hope' Leaves 'Hope' Despite Missing Cannes Award [Cannes★Reporter's Notebook]

*This content was translated by AI.

The film 'Hope' failed to win an award at the Cannes Film Festival. Although the result was disappointing, 'Hope' has left another 'hope' for the Korean film industry.

On the afternoon of the 23rd, the closing ceremony of the 79th Cannes Film Festival was held. At the closing ceremony, the winners among this year's competition entries were announced.

Unfortunately, 'Hope' did not win an award.

It is reported that director Na Hong-jin and the 'Hope' team were not contacted to attend the Cannes closing ceremony. The Cannes Film Festival typically contacts the winners on the day of the closing ceremony, starting at noon, to invite them to attend, but this year they did not receive such contact and did not attend the closing ceremony. Even on the day of the closing ceremony, director Na Hong-jin, along with actors Hwang Jung-min, Jo In-sung, and Jung Ho-yeon, remained, but their failure to win added to the disappointment.

Although returning empty-handed, the achievement of 'Hope' in this year's Cannes competition is meaningful. Since its official screening on the 17th, 'Hope' has changed the atmosphere of the Cannes Film Festival and emerged as the festival's hottest topic. With director Na Hong-jin's unique style, stunning visuals, and the appearance of new creatures, the film attracted significant attention, and a flood of diverse evaluations poured in.

Although director Na Hong-jin's 'Hope' did not lift a trophy, it brought a new wind to this year's Cannes Film Festival and delivered a pleasant shock to the Korean film industry.

Director Na Hong-jin entered the Cannes competition with a perfect genre film rather than an art film, joining the 'Cannes Regular Masters LINE'. As his first genre film in 10 years, 'Hope' stood at the center of the Cannes Film Festival's competition buzz this year, and reactions from overseas critics and the industry were also intense. Interest in 'Hope' was also high at the market, and it is reported that it achieved good results.

As 'Hope' entered the competition section of the Cannes Film Festival, which is known to be conservative regarding genre films, it is also said to have brought a new wind to the Cannes competition lineup. Through 'Hope', director Na Hong-jin has risen a step further to become a director loved by Cannes and a world-class director.

Previously, 'Hope' was submitted to the Cannes Film Festival at the strong request of the festival organizers. Plus M Entertainment stated, "This year's participation in the Cannes Film Festival was a decision made out of gratitude for Cannes' love call, which came at the most critical time of post-production."

Director Na Hong-jin, who relentlessly creates the films he desires, submitted 'Hope' to Cannes in his best possible condition, given the time available, and will return to post-production after receiving evaluations locally, before its release. The distributor stated, "Director Na Hong-jin mentioned that the most important thing currently is 'the remaining two months before meeting Korean audiences.'" He further emphasized that "this is the critical stage of the final finishing work," and will focus on maximizing the film's quality until its release.

'Hope', which has already received evaluations that it is a "must-see" film on its own, is expected to open new horizons for the film industry when it is released in Korea after further post-production work. It remains to be seen what kind of hope 'Hope' can bring to the Korean film industry.

Meanwhile, 'Hope' is a story that begins with Hong Pohang, a station manager located in the Demilitarized Zone, hearing from local youths that a tiger has appeared, causing the entire village to go on high alert as he encounters an unbelievable reality. This is the first genre film director Na Hong-jin has released in 10 years since 'The Wailing'. On the day of its world premiere official screening, 'Hope' received seven minutes of standing ovations from over 2,500 audience members at the packed Lumière Theater. 'Hope' is scheduled for release in July after undergoing additional post-editing work in Korea.

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*This content was translated by AI.