[Official] Director Yeon Sang-ho's Ultra-Low-Budget 500 Million Won Project 'Paradise Lost' to Premiere at TIFF, Set for October Release in Korea

[Sportschosun Jiyoung Cho] The thriller film 'Paradise Lost' (directed by Yeon Sang-ho and produced by WOWPOINT) will be introduced to audiences with its world premiere in the Special Presentations section of the 51st Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), before opening in Korean theaters in October.

'Paradise Lost' has been officially invited to the Special Presentations section of the 51st Toronto International Film Festival, which will be held in Toronto, Canada, from Sept. 10 to 20. Special Presentations is one of TIFF's signature sections, showcasing new works and buzzworthy titles from leading filmmakers around the world.

With this invitation, Yeon Sang-ho has been selected by Toronto for the second consecutive year, following 'The Ugly,' which was invited to the Special Presentations section of the 50th Toronto International Film Festival. Earlier this year, 'Colony' was officially invited to the Midnight Screenings section of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, and with 'Paradise Lost' entering Toronto in the second half of the year, he has set a meaningful record by placing two commercial films in the world's two major international film festivals in the first and second halves of the same year. It is no surprise that global film fans are keeping a close eye on Yeon, who continues to move unpredictably across genres and scale every year.

The newly unveiled international poster, released along with the invitation news, is also drawing attention. It shows a worn photograph of a child with part of his face torn away, a silhouette walking out of the darkness, and Ryu So-young, played by Kim Hyun-joo, standing before the photo with her head bowed. The face-less silhouette hints at Sun-woo, her son who returns after nine years looking nothing like the child she remembers, and raises questions about what will happen between the two. The official TIFF invitation mark further heightens anticipation ahead of the release.

Yeon Sang-ho opens the trailer that was released alongside the poster. Appearing directly in the opening commentary, the director introduced the film himself, saying, "While working on 'The King of Pigs,' 'The Fake,' and 'The Ugly,' I have been thinking about the dark side of human nature. 'Paradise Lost' is the darkest story I have ever had, and it is a film about a mother's desperate struggle after falling into a dark abyss between a child brought back to life by AI and her real child, who returns alive nine years later."

The trailer begins with Ryu So-young sitting alone on a school bus that has lost its children, asking, "Do you know how terrible it was for me that you disappeared?" It then moves through So-young's daily life, where she leans on her young son among the children in a virtual-reality paradise, before shifting to Sun-woo, who returns after nine years with a strange new appearance, accompanied by the caption, "He has returned."

"A miracle has happened to Sun-woo's mother. The miracle I have always wished for," a line says over tense music, before ending meaningfully with, "My son is only you, Sun-woo."

Even in a brief moment, Kim Hyun-joo's wavering eyes as she faces her son again and Bae Hyun-sung's unreadable expression leave a powerful impression.

In 'Paradise Lost,' Kim Hyun-joo plays Ryu So-young, reuniting once again with Yeon Sang-ho after 'Hellbound,' 'Jung_E,' and 'The Bequeathed.' Bae Hyun-sung, making his first lead film role, plays Ryu Sun-woo, the unfamiliar son who returns after nine years.

'Paradise Lost' tells a mysterious story that begins when a mother who lost her child in a school bus disappearance nine years ago is reunited with the child, now grown up, after nine years. The film stars Kim Hyun-joo and Bae Hyun-sung, with Yeon Sang-ho of 'Train to Busan,' 'Peninsula,' and 'The Ugly' directing. It is scheduled for release in October.

Jiyoung Cho, soulhn1220@sportschosun.com

This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.