Mickey 17-Berlin fest

▲ A screen capture from "Mickey 17," provided by the Berlin International Film Festival (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Mickey 17-Berlin fest

Bong Joon-ho's 'Mickey 17' invited to Berlin Film Festival

SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's new film "Mickey 17" has been invited to the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, which will be held in Germany next month.

The festival office announced Thursday (German time) that "Mickey 17" will be screened in the Special Gala section.

The Special Gala section typically showcases glamorous and popular genre films. Last year's festival featured the Korean crime-action "The Roundup: No Way Out," starring Ma Dong-seok, in this section.

"Mickey 17" is a sci-fi film based on the novel "Mickey 7" by American author Edward Ashton. It stars Robert Pattinson, Steven Yeun, Naomi Ackie, Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo.

It marks Bong's first directorial work in six years since "Parasite," which won the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. The Berlin festival introduced "Mickey 17" by saying, "Bong Joon-ho, the writer and director of 'Parasite,' once again delivers a dazzling cinematic experience."

Director Min Kyu-dong's vengeance-thriller "The Old Woman With The Knife" will have its world premiere as a late-night Berlinale Special.

The film depicts the confrontation between an elderly female killer and a young male killer, based on the novel of the same name by author Koo Byung-mo. It stars Lee Hye-young, Kim Sung-cheol, Shin Sia and Kim Mu-yeol.

Director Kang Mi-ja's "Spring Night" and director Kim Moo-young's documentary "The Sense of Violence," which were premiered at last year's Busan International Film Festival and Seoul Independent Film Festival, have been invited to the Forum section.

"Night Fishing," a fantasy film co-directed by Park Chan-wook and his brother, media artist Park Chan-kyong, in 2011, will also be rescreened as part of a special short film program. This work, shot with an iPhone camera, won the Golden Bear in the short film competition section at the 2011 Berlin International Film Festival.

This year's edition of the festival will be held from Feb. 13-23.

The competition entries vying for the top prize, the Golden Bear, will be announced Tuesday.

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