Hong Sang-soo's 'Nun Dul De Ga Eomne' invited to compete at Locarno Film Festival

Director Hong Sang-soo's new film "Nun Dul De Ga Eomne" has been officially invited to the 79th Locarno Film Festival, which opens next month. It is Hong's 35th feature film.

The festival's executive committee announced Thursday (local time) that the film had been selected for the International Competition section. This marks Hong's fifth official invitation to Locarno.

He first competed in the International Competition section in 2013 with "Our Sunhi," winning the best director prize. He returned with "Right Now, Wrong Then" (2015), "Hotel by the River" (2018) and "Suyucheon" (2024), taking home an award each time.

In its selection statement, the committee said it was "deeply moved by how every image, every word, every encounter in the film conveys the meaning, beauty and complexity of life — through the poetic expression cinema makes possible and the refined craft behind it — in a way that feels so effortless and unforced."

The committee added that the film "once again demonstrates why Hong Sang-soo is one of the great masters of our time."

The film features Kim Min-hee, Kwon Hae-hyo, Shin Seok-ho and Park Mi-so, with Choi Myung-gil collaborating with Hong for the first time. Following its world premiere at Locarno, the film is scheduled for domestic release in the second half of this year.

Meanwhile, Hong's 34th feature, "The Day She Returns," which opened in May, screened in the Panorama section of this year's Berlin International Film Festival to strong reviews from international critics. The new Locarno invitation extends Hong's streak to seven consecutive years at the festival, following "The Woman Who Ran," "Introduction," "The Novelist's Film," "In Water," "A Traveler's Needs" and "What Does That Nature Say to You."