Kim Jong-kwan's 'Day and Night Flow Into Each Other' to open 31st BIFF

A still from "Day and Night Flow Into Each Other" [Busan International Film Festival]

Director Kim Jong-kwan's new feature film "Day and Night Flow Into Each Other" has been selected as the opening film of the 31st Busan International Film Festival. The film follows four couples whose paths cross at a single cafe across the changing seasons from summer to autumn, capturing their warm, lighthearted and tender conversations.

The Busan International Film Festival announced Wednesday that it had chosen the film as this year's opening selection, praising it for "thoughtfully portraying each character's unique inner voice, emotions and the subtle shifts in their relationships — without resorting to contrived setups or dramatic plot turns." The festival called the film "both lively and sincere."

The film makes full use of the cafe as a setting — a place where strangers briefly pass through — tracing each character's individual story, personality and mood with a brisk rhythm and an attentive eye.

The film weaves together four vignettes: a chance encounter between Yujin (Kim Min-ha) and Hyeon-o (Ju Jong-hyuk), who had been at the cafe at different times; an unexpected reunion between middle school friends Sangmi (Han Sun-hwa) and Yeongmin (Jang Ryul); a laugh-filled first meeting between web novelist Hyejin (Shim Eun-kyung) and film director Dongnam (Lee Hee-jun); and a series of tender moments between aspiring idol Nagyeong (Jeon So-young) and her boyfriend Jongsu (Kim Dong-hwi).

The festival also noted that the film brought together "an ensemble of actors recognized for their solid performances — Kim Min-ha, Ju Jong-hyuk, Han Sun-hwa, Jang Ryul, Shim Eun-kyung, Lee Hee-jun, Jeon So-young and Kim Dong-hwi — alongside promising newcomers, all of whom demonstrated strong chemistry and ensemble acting."

Kim made his debut with the short film "How to Operate a Polaroid" (2004), which won a jury special prize at the Mise-en-scene Short Film Festival and immediately established him as a rising talent in Korean cinema. He went on to direct numerous short films, including "Paradise" (2005) and "Ghosts of the Archive" (2014).

His first feature, "A Little Closer" (2010), was followed by "The Worst Moment of My Life" (2016), which won the FIPRESCI Prize at the Moscow International Film Festival. He has since directed "The Table" (2017), "Jose" (2020) and "Nowhere" (2021), and participated in omnibus projects alongside other directors, including the Netflix original series "Persona" (2019), "The Night of the Full Moon" (2022) and "The Killers" (2024).

Kim is currently preparing for the release of "Someone Beyond the Foggy Window" as well as the world premiere of "Day and Night Flow Into Each Other."

The opening film will have its world premiere at the 31st Busan International Film Festival, which runs Oct. 6 to 15.

balme@heraldcorp.com