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| A scene from the film 'Concrete Utopia' / Courtesy of Lotte Entertainment |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
"Concrete Utopia," a disaster thriller starring actors Lee Byung-hun and Park Seo-jun, has been invited to the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival, the film's distributor Lotte Entertainment said Friday.
The film has been invited to the Orbita section of the festival's 56th edition, which will take place from Oct. 5 to 15. The Spanish film festival is considered one of the top three fantasy genre film festivals in the world, along with Portugal's Oporto International Film Festival and Belgium's Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival.
It specializes in film genres such as fantasy, thriller and horror, with an emphasis on innovative storytelling and creativity. The Orbita category is where action, thriller and black comedy genre films compete.
"It is a boundary-breaking disaster movie that is not only entertaining to watch but raises deep questions like 'what would you do in such a situation?' The movie is moving and exciting," said the Spanish distributor of the film.
"Concrete Utopia" follows residents of the only apartment building left standing following a massive earthquake. Amid the chaos, Young-tak (Lee) struggles to defend apartment residents against outsiders, along with a married couple ― played by Park and Park Bo-young ― who dedicate themselves to protecting each other.
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| A poster for the film, 'Concrete Utopia' / Courtesy of Lotte Entertainment |
It was also invited to the "Spotlight on Korea" section at this year's Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF), which is scheduled for Oct. 12-29, according to Lotte Entertainment.
"Lee Byun-hun, Park Seo-jun and Park Bo-young show off their stunning performances in 'Concrete Utopia.' It gives a refreshing twist on the traditional disaster movie. It's a must-see disaster film from Korea" HIFF's Director of Programming Anna Page said of the film.
Directed by Um Tae-hwa, who previously helmed the 2016 fantasy film "Vanishing Time: A Boy Who Returned," the film has been sold to 152 countries including France, Italy, Mexico, Brazil and Japan. The film is produced by Climax Studio, a production house known for making Netflix's original series "D.P" and "Hellbound."
"Concrete Utopia" will hit local theaters on Aug. 9.
