The X by KIM Jee-woon, the director of A Bittersweet Life (2005) and The Last Stand, will premiere at this year’s Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). The X has been officially invited to be a Gala Presentation at the BIFF, which is set to start on October 3rd.

 

The X was produced for the ScreenX format that makes use of not only the central screen but also the side walls of theaters. The film aims to publicize the new format. But it also attracted people’s attention from its production stage as the film cast GANG Dong-won of Woochi (2009) and Haunters (2010) and SHIN Min-a of A Bittersweet Life and Early Spring, Gyeongju. In the film, GANG plays the elite spy X while SHIN takes on the role of a femme fatale. The X is GANG’s first film following the end of his military service. GANG performs some motorbike action and takes part in a fight between ten men and him. SHIN has joined with KIM Ji-woon for the first time in the eight years since A Bittersweet Life and will demonstrate her appeal as a femme fatale.

 

On the other hand, a live action version of the Japanese animation The Wolf Brigade that KIM had been preparing has been temporarily pushed back. The Wolf Brigade, a OKIURA Hiroyuki film, depicts a duel between the police with strong military power and an anti-government group in a near-future Japan. According to film industry sources, the filmmaker was set to finalize the pre-production work for the live action version within this year with a shoot planned for early next year. However, recent internal reasons have moved the project to the back burner.