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S. Korean film ‘The Tunnel’ invited to Locarno film fest

July 14, 2016

SEOUL, July 14 (Yonha) — The South Korean film “The Tunnel” will get a screening at a non-competition section of this year’s Locarno International Film Festival, according to the festival’s official website on Thursday.

The survival-drama movie, starring actors Ha Jung-woo and Oh Dal-su and actress Bae Doona, will be screened outdoors in the Piazza Grande, a non-competition category of the film festival.

This year’s LIFF will run from Aug. 3 through 13 in the Swiss city of Locarno.

A scene from the South Korean film "The Tunnel" shows car salesman Jung-su, played by actor Ha Jung-woo, accidentally trapped in a destroyed tunnel. (Yonhap)

A scene from the South Korean film “The Tunnel” shows car salesman Jung-su, played by actor Ha Jung-woo, accidentally trapped in a destroyed tunnel. (Yonhap)

LIFF’s Piazza Grande has favored films with both quality and market potential. Some of the other Piazza Grande screenings of this year include Paul Greengrass’s “Jason Bourne,” Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or winner “I, Daniel Blake,” Gemma Arterton’s sci-fi piece “The Girl With All the Gifts” and Alejandro Jodorowsky’s “Endless Poetry.”

“The Tunnel” was directed by Kim Seong-hun, who has accumulated global recognition with his previous work “A Hard Day,” a crime-action film starring Lee Sun-kyun and Cho Jin-woong, launched at home in 2014.

This film portrays the life-or-death struggle of Jung-su, who accidentally becomes trapped in a destroyed tunnel. His wife Se-hyun (Bae) and 911 captain Dae-gyeong (Oh) make every effort to save the car salesman, but are confronted with a local politician and people who do not want a development plan to be delayed to rescue a single person who may have already died.

The LIFF has awarded South Korean films since 1989, when director Bae Yong-kyun’s “Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left For The East” won the Golden Leopard, the top prize of the Swiss event.

In 2015, South Korean film “Right Now, Wrong Then” earned director Hong Sang-soo a Golden Leopard and lead actor Jung Jae-young the best actor’s award.