Selected as Korea's Representative for the Academy: 'No Way Out'

〈No Way Out〉 will be submitted as Korea's representative work for the 2026 Academy Awards.

Recently, after its premiere screening at the Venice International Film Festival, 〈No Way Out〉 is now heading to the Academy. On September 2, the Korean Film Council announced that 〈No Way Out〉 was selected as Korea's representative work for the international feature category of the 2026 American Academy Awards. The jury stated, "Considering all evaluation criteria including stable cinematic completeness, the contemporary concern of the theme 'dismissal', the excellent performances of good actors, and a capable North American distributor, we deemed it the most competitive among the submitted works."

〈No Way Out〉 is based on Donald E. Westlake's novel 「The Ax」, depicting the process of job seeker Yoo Man-soo (Lee Byung-hun) eliminating competitors for employment. It stars Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran, and Cha Seung-won, with Park Chan-wook handling the screenplay and direction.

After its screening at the Venice International Film Festival, 〈No Way Out〉 will be screened as the opening film of the 30th Busan International Film Festival, meeting Korean audiences. It will be released on September 24.