Hong Sungeun’s debut film Aloners is competing for the Cyclo d’Or at this year’s Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema in their Narrative Competition. It is the first Korean film to be invited to Vesoul’s main competition since Sub-zero Wind (2018) in 2019.

Aloners, which stars Gong Seungyeon as a telephone operator dealing with urban alienation, debuted in the Korean Competition of the JEONJU International Film Festival last year, where it picked up the CGV Arthouse Award as well as the Best Actress Award. It went on to be invited to many prestigious global film events, including the Toronto International Film Festival, the San Sebastian International Film Festival and the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.

Featuring in Vesoul’s Documentary competition this year is Shekh Al Mamun’s Bangladeshi-Korean co-production Why Not, which tells the story of the ‘Birangana’, women subjected to war crimes in Bangladesh.

Other Korean films screening at the festival this year include the Korean indie films Jiseul (2012) by O Muel and Kim Kiduk’s The Net (2016), which are both screening in the retrospective ”Histoire en toile de fond” (History in Background) section.

Several Korean films have picked up the Cyclo d’Or, Vesoul’s top prize, over the years, including Zhang Lu’s Grain In Ear in 2006, Jiseul in 2013 and Lee Yongseung’s 10 Minutes in 2014.

This year’s Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema is currently taking place and is scheduled to end on Tuesday, February 8.