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NIFFF to Close with PARK Chan-wook’s THE HANDMAIDEN
The Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF) in Switzerland has confirmed its lineup for its 16th edition, which will feature a trio of genre features from South Korea. PARK Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden has been booked for the festival's closing spot, while YEON Sang-ho’s Seoul Station and JANG Jae-hyun’s The Priests will play in the ‘New Cinema from Asia’ program.
Following its premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival last month, director PARK’s third invitation there, The Handmaiden opened in Korea at the beginning of June and after three weeks has become his second most successful film, accruing over 3.76 million viewers (USD 26.83 million) to date. Starring KIM Min-hee, HA Jung-woo and new star KIM Tae-ri, The Handmaiden is based on the Sarah Waters’ novel Fingersmith. The erotically-charged thriller switches out the book’s Victorian England setting for Colonial Era Korea and Japan.
The latest indie animation from YEON, Seoul Station chronicles a zombie breakout one evening around Korea’s main transport hub. The film is followed by the big-budget live action sequel TRAIN TO BUSAN, which debuted as a Midnight Screening at the Cannes Film Festival and will premiere in Korea on July 20th.
Adapted from his own shot 12th Assistant Deacon (2014), JANG’s The Priests is an exorcism thriller featuring GANG Dong-won and KIM Yun-seok which became a significant hit in Korea last year, accruing 5.44 million admissions (USD 36.65 million).