Moon Choi brings 'Bedford Park' to Busan and joins the competition jury

Left · 2Korean actress Moon Choi, known in Korea as Choi Hee-seo, is at the Busan International Film Festival with the indie drama 'Bedford Park', which is screening in the festival's noncompetitive Flash Forward section. 1 2 Left · 2She also sits on the seven-member jury for Busan's main competition section, now in its second year, which is led by Chinese director Zhang Yimou; Variety lists Bi Gan, Kei Ishikawa, July Jung, Tran Thi Bich Ngoc and Samal Yeslyamova as the other members. 2 1 Left · 2Written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Stephanie Ahn, the film follows Audrey, a Korean American physical therapist in New Jersey, who forms a bond with Eli, a former wrestler played by Son Sukku, after a car accident involving her mother. 1 2

Left · 2The film premiered at Sundance in January, where Variety says it won the Special Jury Award for Debut Feature, and later played Toronto; Sony Pictures Classics holds worldwide rights and will release it in the US. 2 1 Left · 1The Hollywood Reporter says Seoul-based distributor BY4M plans a wide Korean theatrical run in February or March, and Choi told the magazine she is nervous about how Korean fans will react to a film she expects will surprise them with how 'rated R' it is. 1 Left · 2The film took years to finance. After the pandemic halted production, Choi and Ahn made a proof-of-concept short, and Choi suggested rewriting Eli, originally a white character, as a Korean American adoptee for her friend Son; Hyundai Motor Company then backed the film, its first investment in an independent feature, and Choi became an executive producer. 2 1

Left · 2Choi's earlier career included the 2017 drama 'Anarchist from Colony' and Busan's 2018 actor of the year award for 'Our Body'; she told Variety she kept her trophies in a cabinet because displaying them made her feel pressure to prove herself. 2 1 Left · 2Both outlets describe a childhood spent between Korea, Japan and New Jersey, which Choi says left her feeling like an outsider and helped her relate to Audrey. 1 2 Left · 2Choi recently finished the New York run of Simon Stone's Korean-language 'The Cherry Orchard' at the Park Avenue Armory with Jeon Do-yeon, and told Variety she will lead a Korean stage version of Alexis Michalik's Molière-winning 'Une histoire d'amour' in Seoul next year and has his blessing to option it for a screen version, which she wants to write herself. 2 1

Left · 1As a juror, Choi says she feels like a student and will favour films that leave audiences with questions rather than definitive answers. 2