In Competition: “Secret Sunshine” by Lee Chang-Dong

One of Korea’s leading filmmakers, Lee Chang-dong, is presenting his latest work in Competition, entitled Secret Sunshine. He visited the Croisette once before in 2000 for
Peppermint Candy, which was a Directors’ Fortnight selection. The new film follows a young widow, played by Jeon Do-yeon, as she returns with the couple’s young son to Miryang,
the provincial city where her late husband was born. As she mourns, she awkwardly tries to become a part of the community: trained as a pianist, she earns a living by giving piano lessons. The
turning point in the film comes when her son is kidnapped and killed.

Lee Chang-dong describes the film’s long gestation: “I’ve been thinking about it since 2002, after the release of Oasis, but I had to shelve the idea when I was
called upon to serve as the Minister of Culture and Tourism. Throughout my tenure, I had to forget the film, but once I left the government, I was able to return to it.”

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