East Coast Fest to Fete Thriller in Korean Spotlight
For its 2015 edition, the Newport Beach Film Festival will host a special presentation of the blackly comic action-thriller
A Hard Day. The hit film will be screened as a special Korean spotlight on April 27th and will be followed by a Pacific Rim Showcase Party in the evening.
The sophomore film by
KIM Seong-hun,
A Hard Day premiered to unanimous acclaim in the Director’s Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival last spring. In it,
LEE Sun-kyun appears as a corrupt cop who becomes involved in a hit and run while on the way to his mother’s funeral. Catching word of internal affairs closing in on him, the detective grabs the body and hides it in his mother’s coffin. But before the problem goes away, he receives a threatening call from a mysterious individual who is aware of his secret. Playing the antagonist who goes up against the policeman is
CHO Jin-woong.
Not only was A Hard Day a hit with critics, it became a success in Korean theaters, when 3.45 million people went to see it. It was also the recipient of many awards in Korea, including Best Director at the Grand Bell (Daejong) Film Awards. Festival CEO Gregg Schwenk said, “The Festival continues a proud tradition of presenting the very best in Korean Cinema. ‘A Hard Day’ is a riveting and comedic thriller. Dynamic and suspenseful cinematography make this a must see for 2015.” The Newport Beach Film Festival will run from April 23rd to the 30th.