Hong Sang-soo competes as Bong Joon-ho debuts ‘Mickey 17’ at Berlin Film Festival

A scene from Bong Joon-ho’s “Mickey 17” / Warner Bros. Korea

The latest works by Korean directors Bong Joon-ho and Hong Sang-soo will be screened at the Berlin Film Festival, which kicks off Thursday for an 11-day run.

Hong’s latest film, “What Does That Nature Say to You,” has been chosen for competition at the prestigious event, scheduled to take place from Feb. 13-23.

The 33rd feature by Hong, starring Ha Seong-guk, Kwon Hae-hyo and Cho Yun-hee, explores the events that unfold when a young woman brings her boyfriend to meet her family.

The 64-year-old director has won five awards at the festival, starting with “On the Beach at Night Alone” in 2017, which earned its lead actress, Kim Min-hee, the Silver Bear for Best Actress.

Last year, Hong received the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize for “A Traveler’s Needs.”

“Parasite” director Bong’s “Mickey 17” will be screened in the Special Gala section, which typically showcases glamorous and popular genre films. Last year’s festival featured the Korean crime-action “The Roundup: No Way Out,” starring Ma Dong-seok, in this section.

Starring Robert Pattinson and Steven Yeun, “Mickey 17” is adapted from Edward Ashton’s novel “Mickey7,” which revolves around a cloned space explorer sent to an ice-covered planet.

It marks Bong’s first directorial work in six years since “Parasite,” which won the Palme d’Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. The Berlin festival described “Mickey 17” as “a dazzling cinematic experience.”

Director Min Kyu-dong’s vengeance-thriller “The Old Woman With The Knife” will have its world premiere as a late-night Berlinale Special.

The film depicts the confrontation between an elderly female killer and a young male killer, based on the novel of the same name by author Koo Byung-mo. It stars Lee Hye-young, Kim Sung-cheol, Shin Sia and Kim Mu-yeol.

Director Kang Mi-ja’s “Spring Night” and director Kim Moo-young’s documentary “The Sense of Violence,” which premiered at last year’s Busan International Film Festival and Seoul Independent Film Festival, respectively, have been invited to the Forum section.

“Night Fishing,” a fantasy film co-directed by Park Chan-wook and his brother, media artist Park Chan-kyong, in 2011, will also be rescreened as part of a special short film program. Shot with an iPhone camera, it won the Golden Bear in the short film competition section at the 2011 Berlin International Film Festival. (Yonhap)