Disaster Comedy to screen in 'Piazza Grande’ Section of Prestigious Swiss Film Event

The upcoming disaster comedy tentpole Sinkhole has been invited to screen at the Locarno International Film Festival, which is staging its 74th edition from August 4 to 14. Depending on when the film screens during the event, it may be the world premiere of the film, which is set to open in local theaters on August 11.

Sinkhole is the second Korean film to be invited to the ‘Piazza Grande’ section, where works are screened on the festival’s famed outdoor screen to 8,000 viewers. The previous Korean film that screened there was Kim Seonghun’s Tunnel (2016), also a disaster film.

From director Kim Jihoon, known for previous disaster titles such as Sector 7 (2011) and The Tower (2012), and starring Cha Seungwon, Kim Sungkyun and Lee Kwangsoo, Sinkhole tells the story of a man who moves into a new home after years of hard work with his family and invites his co-workers over for a housewarming party. On the evening in question, the whole block is swallowed by a sinkhole, leaving the party guests and neighbours stranded hundreds of meters below ground.

Korean films have long been popular at Locarno, though they are usually arthouse works. Director Hong Sangsoo has been a frequent guest and multiple prize winner, having picked up the festival’s top prize, the Golden Leopard, for Right Now, Wrong Then in 2015, as well as the Best Director Prize for Our Sunhi in 2013. The Golden Leopard was also awarded to Bae Yongyun’s Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East? in 1989.