It marks the sixth consecutive year Hong has been invited to the festival since 2020, having taken home awards five times for his films including "A Traveler's Needs" (2024) and "The Woman Who Ran" (2020).
Hong's 33th feature, "What Does That Nature Say to You," which will compete with about a dozen other films, revolves around a young poet who drops his girlfriend off at her parents' sprawling house, where he bumps into her family and ends up spending a long day with them.
Actress Kim Min-hee, Hong's muse in his mostly improvised micro-budget films, apparently participated in making the film, which stars Kwon Hae-hyo, Cho Yun-hee, Ha Seong-guk, and Park Mi-so.
Now, all eyes are on whether Hong will attend the festival with Kim, after it was revealed that Kim is pregnant and due this spring.
Kim has been involved in a May-to-September romance with Hong for several years, during which he has remained married to his estranged wife after losing a divorce suit in 2019.
The film is scheduled for release here in the first half of this year, after having its world premiere at the festival, which runs from Feb. 13 to 23.
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