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The New York Asian Film Festival will present the North American premiere of Na Hong-Jin’s “Hope” as the centerpiece of its 25th edition, with Neon distributing the film in North America beginning Sept. 9.
The screening
takes place July 20 at the SVA Theatre in New York, where Na will appear for an introduction and Q&A.
Na will also receive NYAFF’s Daniel A. Craft Award for Excellence in Action Cinema – the festival’s honor for filmmakers working at the peak of the genre, named for founder Dan Craft, who died in 2013. Past recipients include Dante Lam and Yuen Woo-ping. “Hope” is Na’s first film in a decade, following “The Wailing.”
The film unfolds in a coastal village called Hope Harbor, where a weary police chief, his outspoken sergeant, and a group of hunters find themselves confronting a mysterious presence emerging from surrounding forests. Na drew a parallel to his earlier work while articulating the film’s underlying concern. “Ultimately, what this film hopes to explore and convey is the familiar adage that all the world’s tragedies stem from misunderstandings,” he said. Despite its genre spectacle, he describes the film simply as “a human drama.”
The cast is led by Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, and Hoyeon, marking the “Squid Game” breakout’s feature film debut. An international ensemble portraying the film’s enigmatic visitors through performance capture includes Oscar nominee Michael Fassbender, Oscar winner Alicia Vikander, Taylor Russell (“Waves,” “Bones and All”), and Cameron Britton (“Mindhunter,” “Mickey 17”). The film was shot across South Korea and Romania’s Retezat National Park by cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo, whose past credits include “Parasite” and “Burning,” and is scored by Michael Abels, composer of “Get Out” and “Nope.”
Alongside the centerpiece, NYAFF will present a retrospective spanning Na’s full filmography – the first time all four of his features have screened together. The program opens with “The Chaser” (2008) on 35mm on July 26, and includes “The Yellow Sea” (2010) on July 19 at the Korean Cultural Center New York and “The Wailing” (2016) later the same evening at the SVA Theatre. Every film in the series had its world premiere at Cannes; “Hope” marks Na’s first title in the festival’s main competition.
Reviewing the film for Variety, Jessica Kiang described “Hope” as “featuring some of the most breathtakingly elegant action moviemaking of this or any year.”
NYAFF 2026 runs July 10–26 across five New York venues anchored by Film at Lincoln Center.
