Showbox, one of South Korea’s leading studios, is launching sales of disaster comedy “Sinkhole” at the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Film Market. Helmed by “The Tower” director Kim Ji-hoon, the film is the story of the events that follow the appearance of an urban sinkhole that swallows an entire apartment building.
It stars fashion model-turned-actor Cha Seung-won (“Cheer Up, Mr. Lee”), Kim Sung-kyun (“Fengshui”) and Lee Kwang-soo (“Tazza: One Eyed Jack”). Aiming for a 2020 release, “Sinkhole” started shooting in August and is currently in production.
Showbox is also handling international sales of “The Man Standing Next,” a film by “Inside Men” director Woo Min-ho. Based on the fact-based novel of the same title, “Man Standing Next” tells an untold story of Korean Central Intelligence Agency and its political maneuvering in the 1970s. With a star-studded cast that includes Lee Byung-hun (“Inside Men”), Lee Sung-min (“Spy Gone North”), and Kwak Do-won (“Steel Rain”), the political drama is in post-production now and is set for a local release later in the year.
Other titles that Showbox is selling at the Busan market include “Man of Men,” and “The Golden Holiday.”
“Men,” which opened in local cinemas ahead of the Busan festival, is Yong Soo’s directorial feature debut. It features star actors Sul Kyung-gu (“Birthday”) and Cho Jin-woong (“Intimate Strangers”). The comedy drama is the story of a lawyer who is diagnosed with a terminal illness and asks a low-level hoodlum doing community service to help him complete his bucket list, in return for a large part of his life insurance settlement.
“Ordinary Person” director Kim Bong-han’s action comedy “Holiday” revolves around a laid-back countryside detective who takes his family to The Philippines for an anniversary, but does so with a hidden purpose of tracking down an old friend who scammed him and disappeared. Currently in post-production, “Holiday” stars Kwak Do-won, Kim Dae-myeung (“Drug King”), Kim Sang-ho (“The Negotiation”) and Kim Hie-won (“Missing”).