'Hope' Fails to Win at Cannes.. Na Hong-jin: "Focusing on Enhancing the Film's Quality Until Its Korean Release" [Cannes★On the Scene]

*This content was translated by AI.

With the Cannes premiere of the film 'Hope' falling through, director Na Hong-jin conveyed his stance to focus on maximizing the film's quality until its release in Korea.

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

'Hope' unfortunately did not win an award. Although director Na Hong-jin, along with actors Hwang Jung-min, Jo In-sung, and Jung Ho-yeon, remained until the closing ceremony, their failure to win added to the sense of disappointment.

'Hope' became the festival's hottest topic after its official screening on the 17th, changing the atmosphere of the Cannes Film Festival. While the film received significant attention for director Na Hong-jin's unique style, stunning visuals, and the appearance of a new creature, leading to a flood of diverse reviews, it did not secure the joy of winning an award.

Although a sense of disappointment lingered among director Na Hong-jin, actors Hwang Jung-min, Jo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, and other film industry figures and journalists who had stayed in anticipation of 'Hope' winning, it is undeniable that 'Hope' was the top hot topic of this year's Cannes Film Festival.

Through the distribution company, director Na Hong-jin stated, "The most important thing right now is the remaining time of about two months until we meet Korean audiences." Director Na emphasized, "What begins now is the critical stage of the final finishing process," and explained, "We intend to focus on maximizing the film's quality during the time remaining before its release."

Having successfully submitted the film to the Cannes Film Festival, he conveyed his plan to devote more effort to the remaining post-production work to present a high-quality film to audiences.

Meanwhile, 'Hope' tells the story of 'Beom-seok', the head of the Pohang outpost located in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), who learns from local youths that a tiger has appeared, triggering a state of emergency across the village as he encounters an unbelievable reality. This is the first film directed by Na Hong-jin in 10 years since 'The Wailing'. 'Hope' is scheduled for release in July after undergoing additional post-production editing in Korea.

The Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival today was awarded to 'Fjord', directed by Romanian director Cristian Mungiu. Director Mungiu raised his second Palme d'Or trophy.

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*This content was translated by AI.