South Korean auteur Hong Sang-soo‘s new film, Nowhere to Lay My Eyes, has sold to Cinema Guild for North American distribution ahead of its world premiere in the international competition of the 79th edition of the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland next month.
Nowhere to Lay My Eyes follows Sanghee (Kim Minhee) who, with her brother, visits her mother who settled down on Jeju Island. It’s been 10 years since she saw her mother. “Her stepfather, a documentarist, is making a film about a ‘grass tomb,’ while her mother’s restaurant has become a hit and she’s made a lot of money,” reads a synopsis of the movie. “She also meets her stepfather’s daughter, who has just started painting. Sanghee works for a snack import company, and in her spare time she makes very short films by herself. She spends two days with these people, as previously unknown facts, needless advice and cheap compliments are passed back and forth.”
In his 35th feature, Hong continues “his poetic expression through refined yet seemingly effortless craftsmanship,” Cinema Guild said. The film follows Sanghee through awkward conversations and unexpected discoveries combining into a “bittersweet reflection on the meaning, beauty, and complexity of life,” the company said.
