Indie Filmmaker Teams Up with KIM Sung-je and Chisun for 10th Feature
Prolific independent filmmaker
CHO Sung-kyu is back with his tenth feature, the drama
Guest House, which just premiered at the 9th Okinawa International Movie Festival (OIMF). The film pairs K-pop star KIM Sung-je (of boyband Supernova) in his first film role with the Osaka-based Korean actress Chisun, known for her work on Japanese film and TV.
Guest House features an aspiring actor who moves from the city to the seaside town Gangneung, where he begins to manage a guest house. When Hiroko, a Japanese curling athlete, stays at his establishment, a romance begins to unfold in a town.
First forging a career as an investor and producer on several key Korean films from directors such as
KIM Ki-duk,
Hong Sangsoo,
JANG Hun and
LEE Yoon-ki, CHO Sung-kyu broke out as a director in 2010 with the feature
Second Half. Averaging approximately 1.5 films a year since then, CHO has been a fixture on the Korean and international festival circuits, with works such as
The Winter of the Year Was Warm (2012) and
Two Rooms, Two Nights (2016). Prior to
Guest House, he completed his first genre film,
Flower of Evil, which will be released later this year.
Director CHO and his stars KIM Sung-je and Chisun graced the red carpet of OIMF along the famed Kokusai-dori street in Central Naha on Sunday, April 23rd.