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| A scene from the crime action film "Smugglers" / Courtesy of NEW |
By Lee Gyu-lee
Lead actors, Yum Jung-ah and Park Jung-min, and director Ryoo Seung-wan of the crime action film "Smugglers" will be going to this year's Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), set for Sept. 7 to 17.
The film's distributor, NEW, announced that the director and actors have confirmed their attendance at the festival for the film's screening at TIFF's main section, Gala Presentation.
The film was originally invited for the Special Presentations section at the festival but was since shifted to the main event. Previously, local films like the 2008 action flick "The Good, the Bad, the Weird" and the 2022 thriller action film "Hunt" were invited for this section.
"Considering the remarkable potential and enthusiastic response that 'Smugglers' has been receiving, we have carefully decided to extend the invitation to 'Smugglers' for the Gala section," TIFF said through the distributor. "Moreover, we are pleased to invite the actors together. We are delighted and excited to brighten TIFF stage through the collaboration with 'Smugglers.'"
Directed by filmmaker Ryoo, whose previous work includes the 2015 action film "Veteran" and the 2019 comedy disaster film "Exit," the movie follows a group of "haenyeo," or female divers ― played by Kim Hye-soo, Yum Jung-ah and Go Min-si ― in a small fishing town in the 1970s.
The divers make their ends meet by collecting marine products. But when a chemical factory in their neighborhood threatens their livelihoods, two haenyeo, Choon-ja (Kim Hye-soo) and Jin-sook (Yum Jung-ah), find a new way to put their talent to use with notorious criminal, Mr. Kwon (Zo In-sung), getting themselves involved in a high-stakes smuggling scheme.
The star-studded film, which was released on July 26, topped the local box for 14 consecutive days since its premiere, collecting 4.7 million ticket sales as of Sunday. It was also invited to the 76th Locarno Film Festival, as part of its midsummer movie event, Piazza Grande.
Two more Korean films have been invited to this year's TIFF along with "Smugglers." Director Um Tae-hwa's blockbuster disaster film "Concrete Utopia," about people surviving a massive earthquake, will screen at TIFF's Gala Presentation. Its cast members, Lee Byung-hun, Park Seo-joon and Park Bo-young, and the director will attend the festival.
Director Hur Jin-ho's upcoming drama film "A Normal Family," the Korean adaptation of the Dutch author Herman Koch's international bestseller, "The Dinner," will have a world premiere at the festival, screening at Gala Presentation.
The director and its lead actors, Sol Kyung-gu, Jang Dong-gun, Kim Hee-ae and Claudia Kim, will also attend the festival.
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