Two new South Korean films directed by Bong Joon-ho and Hong Sang-soo will compete at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival.
 
Pierre Lescure, president of the 70th Cannes Film Festival, and the annual event’s general delegate Thierry Frémaux said in a media conference on Thursday that Bong’s “Okja” and Hong’s “The Day After” were among the 18 entries for the main competition segment.
 
“Okja” features a girl trying to protect her giant pet from the animal kidnappers. It stars Hollywood actors Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal and Paul Dano while Korean actors An Seo-hyun and Byun Hee-bong also appear.
 
"The Day After" was filmed for three weeks in South Korea in February and stars Kwon Hae-hyo, Kim Min-hee, Jo Yoon-hee and Kim Saebyuk.
 
It is the first time in seven years more than one South Korean film will compete together at Cannes since Lee Chang-dong’s “Poetry” and Im Sang-soo’s “The Housemaid” were invited to the competition segment in 2010.