[HanCinema's News] Song Joong-ki Makes First Appearance at Cannes Film Festival

For the first time, a film from actor Song Joong-ki has been invited to the Cannes Film Festival. While better known for his work in television dramas rather than film, Song Joong-ki is making a play at a serious performance in "Hopeless" where he plays the leader of a local criminal gang, seeking to mentor a teenager played by Hong Xa-bin. Notably, Hong Xa-bin is the credited lead for the project, though whether Song Joong-ki can really be described as the story's villain is an ambiguous question.

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Cannes Film Festival programmers were impressed by the work enough to add it to the Un Certain Regard section, and "Hopeless" will make its world premiere there on May 24th, with two more screenings to follow on May 25th and May 26th. Song Joong-ki has indicated that he will appear on the Cannes red carpet with his wife, further boosting anticipation. After finishing shooting for "Hopeless" late last year, Song Joong-ki said that he wanted to make a project with finishing quality.

Song Joong-ki claimed to have had a thankful heart in regard to being able to participate in the film. He claimed to have expected some enthusiasm from a lower level production like this but that his expectations were quite exceeded. No South Korean release date for "Hopeless" has yet been announced although it is expected to be made available to the public sometime this year. Song Joong-ki is currently filming for the Netflix series "My Name Is Loh Kiwan" based on the novel of the same title.

Written by William Schwartz