Director Na Hong-jin has shared his reaction to his film being invited to the Cannes Film Festival Competition.
On the afternoon of the 9th, via "HOPE"’s investor-distributor Plus M Entertainment, Na said in a brief statement: “It’s an honor. We’ll push harder with the time we have left.”
At a lineup announcement press conference in Paris for the 79th Cannes Film Festival, Executive Director Thierry Fremaux revealed that Na Hong-jin’s "HOPE" has been invited to the Competition section.
"HOPE" follows Beom-seok, the head of the Hopohang branch office located in the Demilitarized Zone. After local youths report a tiger sighting, the entire village goes on high alert―and Beom-seok confronts a reality that’s hard to believe. The film has drawn intense attention at home and abroad as one of the most anticipated Korean releases of 2026.
Each of Na’s films has earned strong praise from critics and audiences, and "HOPE" is his new feature. It reportedly carries the largest production budget in Korean cinema history and features Hwang Jung-min and Jo In-sung, as well as Hollywood actors Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander―fueling major global interest.
U.S. outlets including The Hollywood Reporter had strongly predicted "HOPE"’s Cannes Competition invite. The film was in final post-production until recently but submitted an edited cut to Cannes―and has now secured the Competition slot.
The 79th Cannes Film Festival runs May 12-23 in the resort city of Cannes in southern France. The opening film is French director Pierre Salvadori’s "La Vénus électrique." This year, director Park Chan-wook becomes the first Korean to serve as jury president, overseeing the Competition jury.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)