Korean sales powerhouse Finecut has bolstered its European Film Market offerings with two new acquisitions: the 3D animated feature “Long Long Night” and auteur Hong Sangsoo‘s latest work “The Day She Returns,” which has been selected for the Panorama section at the 76th Berlin Film Festival.
“Long Long Night” adapts an award-winning Korean novel that has sold 700,000 copies locally. The source material earned the Grand Prize at the 2020 Munhakdongne Children’s Literature Award and was featured on the International Youth Library’s 2021 White Ravens list in Munich. International editions have been released in Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Türkiye, with a Chinese version forthcoming. The property has also been adapted into a stage musical.
The animated feature tells the story of the last rhino of his kind who befriends a penguin hatched from an abandoned egg, embarking on a journey to the ocean together. The narrative draws inspiration from Sudan, the last surviving northern white rhino on Earth. Director Youm Kyu-bock is utilizing Unreal Engine, a real-time 3D creation platform, to achieve realistic detailed imagery. Currently in production, the film is produced by Googgoog and Studio Eon, with presentation by The Contents On.
“The Day She Returns” is Hong Sangsoo’s 34th feature film and marks his seventh year at the Berlinale, following his most recent title “What Does That Nature Say to You” (2025). The film follows an actor giving promotional interviews to support her comeback film, a process that proves more difficult than anticipated. The project reunites Hong with actress Song Sunmi, who previously starred in his “In Our Day” (2023), which closed the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. Following its world premiere at the Berlinale, the film is scheduled for theatrical release in the first half of 2026. Jeonwonsa Film Co. serves as producer.
Finecut’s EFM slate also includes “Tristes Tropiques,” an action-noir from genre director Park Hoon-jung currently in post-production. The film’s initial cut premiered in the Òrbita Competition section at Sitges.
Additional titles include “Journey There,” starring Justin H. Min of Netflix’s “The Umbrella Academy,” which won two awards at the Busan International Film Festival. The drama follows an elderly woman who finds comfort with strangers while navigating end-of-life decisions.
The lineup is rounded out by “Wrangler,” a psychological thriller about a dog trainer whose controlled life begins to unravel, which was invited to Vancouver, and “Time of Cinema,” an anthology featuring works from three Korean directors: Lee Jong-pil, Yoon Ga-eun and Jang Kun-jae.
Source: variety.com
