Director NOH Young-seok Returns to the Netherlands
NOH Young-seok’s sophomore feature Intruders has become the first Korean film to be invited to next year’s International Film Festival Rotterdam, one of the premium independent film events in the world. Intruders was selected for the Bright Future section which showcases the work of promising up-and-coming filmmakers.
In Intruders, a writer holes himself up in a cabin deep in the countryside during winter to finish his script. However, instead of peace and quiet, he finds himself putting up with various unwelcome visitors. At first he only has to deal with some loud snowboarders but when a body turns up on the porch of one of the cabins, he realizes some more dangerous guests are nearby.
Intruders premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival this year and has also been featured at the Busan and Hawaii International Film Festivals and the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival. NOH’s 2008 debut Daytime Drinking was also selected for Rotterdam.
Korean films have a long history of success at the Dutch film festival. HONG Sangsoo’s debut The Day a Pig Fell into the Well won the event’s top prize, the Tiger Award, in 1997. Other winners from the peninsula include PARK Chan-ok’s Jealousy Is My Middle Name (2002), YANG Ik-june’s Breathless (2008) and PARK Jung-bum’s The Journals of Musan (2010).
The 43rd International Film Festival Rotterdam will take place from January 22nd to February 2nd next year in the Netherlands.