Song Ji-hyo is heading back to theaters this fall with the human drama "Home Behind Bars".
The festival favorite, praised by both audiences and critics at the 26th Jeonju International Film Festival, has set an Oct. 15 release date.
Set in a women’s prison, the film follows Tae-jeo, a by-the-book correctional officer of 15 years whose first act of sticking her neck out leads to an unexpected bond that brings real warmth into her regimented life. It’s the feature debut of writer-director Cha Jeong-yoon, who has been lauded for her nuanced portraits of people living at the margins, including her screenplay work on the Busan triple-winner "Concerning My Daughter".
In "Home Behind Bars", Cha paints―with a gentle, clear eye―how a quiet, sunlit solidarity forms among a guard, an inmate, and the inmate’s daughter. At Jeonju, the film drew acclaim for centering women and mapping a care network that blossoms within the carceral system, presenting varied expressions of motherhood and tracing emotional ties that run deeper than blood. It also received the Cineteca Nacional Distribution Support Award.
Beloved across variety shows, dramas, and film, Song makes her big-screen return after five years as Tae-jeo, charting the veteran officer’s shift after she meets an inmate’s daughter―playing the transformation with a grounded, delicate touch.
Rising talent Do Young-seo ("Miss Baek", "Emergency Declaration", "Revelations") co-stars as Jun-young, the inmate’s daughter, while Ok Ji-young ("Take Care of My Cat", "I’m Sorry, I Love You") plays Mi-young, the incarcerated mother―joining Song to craft a cross-generational portrait of care and connection.
"Home Behind Bars" opens in theaters Oct. 15.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)