‘Geographies of Solitude,’ ‘Jeong-Sun’ Win Top Prizes at Jeonju Film Festival

South Korea may have made big inroads on American TV recently with “Squid Game” and “Pachinko,” and the country’s intriguing film and television industry also has a stronger-than-usual presence at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. “Squid Game” star Lee Jung-jae’s political thriller “Hunt” premiered as a midnight screening early in the festival; Davy Chou’s “Return to Seoul” landed a pre-Cannes deal with Sony Pictures Classics and is one of the hits of the Un Certain Regard sidebar; and Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda is in the main competition with “Broker,” his first film shot in South Korea in the Korean language.

CANNES, France -- Lee Jung-jae, the award-winning star of Netflix's “Squid Game,” spent years developing the 1980s-set Korean spy thriller “Hunt” before electing to direct himself. He did it a little reluctantly, without big plans to continue filmmaking. But Lee did have a vision for what it could be — and where it could premiere.“Before deciding to direct, I thought I just wanted to make a very fun film,” Lee says.

pic.twitter.com/3F4uIUX2dFGray’s tone at the press conference turned a bit more serious as he discussed the state of cinema and Hollywood and its reliance on turning everything into a franchise. “The whole point should be to inspire creativity. Instead, what we say is, ‘That’s good franchise.’ We used to think of franchises as McDonald’s and Burger King.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorErotic love story “99 Moons,” which has its world premiere in Cannes’ ACID sidebar today, has kicked off international sales. Berlin-based M-Appeal is handling the rights to the film, which is directed by Jan Gassmann.Arthouse VOD platform Filmin has taken the rights in Spain, and arthouse distributor StraDa Films has taken the films for Greece. France and Latin America are in negotiation.

Although a star for nearly 30 years in South Korean films, Lee Jung-Jae recently rocketed to international fame on a whole other level as the star of the television phenomenon, The Squid Game. All of that spotlight will add to interest in Hunt, which he not only stars, produces, co-wrote (with Jo Seung-Hee), but makes his feature film directorial debut, one that just had its World Premiere in the Midnight section of the Cannes Film Festival.

“El agua,” (Elena López Riera)A Directors’ Fortnight title, the feature debut of Locarno winning López Riera (“Los Que Desean”), a fantasy-laced village-set critique of gender violence. S.A. Elle Driver“Alcarràs,” (Carla Simón)The 2022 Berlin Golden Bear winner, Simón’s follow-up to “Summer 1993” and the flagship title for Catalonia and Spain’s newest filmmaking generation.

The International Film Festival Rotterdam has appointed its new team line up and structure as the festival revamps.

Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae has opened up about his life since the Netflix series’ viral success and what the show might mean for the future of Korean media.In a recent interview with Deadline, Lee spoke about how, despite the massive international popularity of Squid Game – including critical success at the Critics Choice Awards and the SAG Awards – life has largely stayed the same for him.“I still don’t feel like my life has changed dramatically,” he explained, although, it’s been a different story for his career. The actor noted that the K-drama’s success has opened up “more opportunities to work with great people on more projects”.On the topic of opportunities, Lee touched on how he has “already [been] getting a lot of support” from renowed talent agency Creative Artists Agency, which he signed with earlier this year.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefEpic Pictures Releasing has licensed North American rights to Korean action film “Hot Blooded,” from leading Seoul-based film sales agency Finecut. The deal is one of several struck by the agency ahead of Cannes, where it is also launching sales on Critics’ Week title “Next Sohee.”Starring Bae Doona and Kim Si-eun, “Next Sohee” is directed by Jung July, whose acclaimed “A Girl at My Door” played in Un Certain regard in 2014.

EXCLUSIVE: Omar Sy’s star continues to burn bright on Netflix, as the French star’s thriller The Takedown comfortably held on to top spot in the streamer’s non-English language film chart.

In Squid Game, lead character Seong Gi-hun is a down-on-his-luck gambling addict given a dangerous opportunity to win a fortune and turn his life around by playing deadly children’s games against 456 other cash-strapped no-hopers. Lee Jung-jae, who plays Seong, has almost nothing in common with his alter-ego: he is one of South Korea’s biggest stars through films such as Deliver Us from Evil and the Along with the Gods franchise and shows Chief of Staff and Triple.

EXCLUSIVE: RLJE Films has acquired North American rights to Taurus, the film starring Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly). The drama, which had its world premiere earlier this year at the Berlin Film Festival, is gearing up for its North American premiere next month at the Tribeca Festival. It will now get a theatrical release later this year.

Creative Artists Agency announced on Monday that CAA Moebius, its annual screening series showcasing diverse graduate student filmmakers, will return as an in-person event from May 18-19.

Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticThe world is not the same place it was in 1986, when “Top Gun” ruled the box office. In Ronald Reagan, America had a movie star for a president, and producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson as its honorary ministers of propaganda.

Powell will play an undercover cop who disguises himself as a hitman to catch individuals attempting to order assassinations. When the cop discovers a woman (Adria Arjona) who is desperate to escape her abusive boyfriend, he breaks protocol and risks his cover to save her. Linklater and Powell previously worked together on the 2016 college comedy “Everybody Wants Some!!’ and this year’s animated SXSW film “Apollo 10 1/2,” which is now streaming on Netflix.