Cinema Guild has picked up North American distribution rights for “The Day She Returns,” the latest feature from acclaimed South Korean auteur Hong Sangsoo. The film world premieres today at the 76th Berlin Film Festival, marking Hong’s seventh consecutive year with a film at the Berlinale.
“The Day She Returns” stars Song Sunmi as an actress who stepped back from acting after marriage and a subsequent divorce, and makes a comeback with a role in an independent film.
Sunmi stars opposite longtime collaborators Cho Yunhee (“The Day After”) and Park Miso (“Introduction”).
“The magic of Hong Sangsoo is endless,” said Cinema Guild president Peter Kelly, who negotiated the deal with Finecut’s Youngjoo Suh. “Watching ‘The Day She Returns’ was like discovering that magic all over again,” he continued. A prolific filmmaker, Hong Sangsoo has written and directed 34 feature films and several shorts since 1996. “The Day She Returns” was produced by his company, Jeonwonsa Film Co.
Cinema Guild is a leading distributor of world cinema, independent films, and documentaries. Upcoming releases include Hong Sangsoo’s “What Does That Nature Say to You” and Aleksandre Koberidze’s “Dry Leaf.”
The company recently rolled out a retrospective of João César Monteiro’s films in 4k restorations, Marta Mateus’ “Fire of Wind,” Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich’s “The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire,” Hong Sangsoo’s “By the Stream” and a retrospective of the French New Wave filmmaker Luc Moullet.
The 76th Berlin Film Festival opened with the world premiere of Shahrbanoo Sadat’s “No Good Men” on Feb. 12 and will wrap on Feb. 22.