SEOUL, May 17, 2022 — Kakao Entertainment today announced it will premiere movies “Broker” and “Hunt” at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival. Produced by Kakao Entertainment’s production companies Cinema Zip and Sanai Pictures, respectively, “Broker” is set to be unveiled on May 26 local time as part of the Official Selection, while “Hunt” will meet audiences for the first time on May 19. 

The movie “Broker” follows the story of different people and intertwining relationships that stem from a baby box. It is the first Korean film to be directed by Hirokazu Koreeda, and actors such as Song Kang-ho, Kang Dong-won, Bae Doo-na, Lee Ji-eun, and Lee Joo-young play the lead characters. The production company Cinema Zip has so far released 16 films, including “Voice of a Murderer,” “Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard,” “All About My Wife,” “The Priests,” “Master,” “Default,” and “Crazy Romance.” Cinema Zip joins the Cannes Film Festival for the first time to compete for the Palme d’Or with “Broker.”

Produced by Sanai Pictures, the espionage thriller “Hunt” was invited to the Midnight Screening, Cannes Film Festival’s out-of-competition sector. Sanai Pictures is a leading film-production company that has been recognized for its specialty in noir, demonstrated through films like “New World,” “The Shameless,” “Asura: City of Madness,” “The Spy Gone North,” and “Money.” This marks the company’s third invitation to Cannes, following “The Shameless” (Un Certain Regard) in 2015 and “The Spy Gone North” (Midnight Screening) in 2018. 

“Hunt” was directed by actor Lee Jung-jae and the launch marks his debut as a film director. It tells the story of two agents of South Korea’s intelligence agency during the ‘80s, who are pitted against each other in their search for a hidden traitor within the agency plotting against the government. Lee Jung-jae tripled as screenwriter, director, and lead actor in the film. 

In addition to the two films, Kakao Entertainment has a number of TV shows set for release throughout the end of the year. Based on its studio system that enables organic collaboration between the company and its subsidiaries, Kakao Entertainment looks to diversify its content portfolio and produce TV shows and movies that can appeal to a global audience. It also capitalizes on its ability to fund and develop projects, as well as network with global streaming platforms, while supporting in the fields of legal and marketing to give its production subsidiaries a stronger competitive edge. 

Kakao Entertainment will launch “Welcome to Wedding Hell” – a Kakao TV Original – on Netflix on May 23. It also has in the pipeline “Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area,” co-produced by BH Entertainment and Content Zium, and “Narco-Saints,” produced by Moonlight Film, which will meet global audiences in the coming months. 

“Welcome to Wedding Hell” is a romance reality show that follows a couple in their 30s as they go through the common struggles associated with wedding planning. A spinoff of the Spanish Netflix Original, “Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area” tells the story of an unprecedented hostage robbery in which strategists and thieves fight against unexpected odds in the fictional soon-to-be-unified Korean Peninsula. “Narco-Saints,” which features top stars like Ha Jung-woo, Hwang Jung-min, and Park Hae-soo, is based on a true story and captures the drama behind the life-threatening journey of a Korean businessman, who gets entangled in a covert operation to capture a Korean drug lord in South America. 

“We’re creating a studio system that allows us to maximize the potential of our development, production, marketing, and legal capabilities along with those of our subsidiaries to create unique, one-of-a-kind stories,” said Jang Sejeong, Kakao Entertainment’s director of media content. “We look forward to releasing innovating and exciting content to capture the hearts of audiences worldwide throughout the rest of the year.”