Loccаrno Competition Invitation, Director Park Se-young’s “The Fin” to Open in July Confirmed & Three-Poster Set Released!

Director Park Se-young’s dystopian SF art cinema 〈 The Fin 〉—invited to the 78th Locarno Film Festival’s New Directors competition section “Filmmakers of the Present,” unveiled as a world premiere and drawing attention from film festivals worldwide—has released three teaser world-setting posters that grab the eye with striking contrasts as its domestic release in July has been confirmed.

The Fin is a dystopian SF art cinema set in a near-future unified South Korea society where the genetic mutation “Omega” coexists with humans. Built around an original world and intense imagination, the film also carries sharp questions about future society, and it has been drawing notice from the overseas film world early on.

The three released teaser world-setting posters preview an original world and overwhelming visuals that are unlike anything that has been easy to find in Korean cinema so far. First, the “Great Wall poster” captures a sweeping scene in which a vast barrier rises behind a red-tinted ruin. The endless gigantic wall and the barren land show a slice of the film’s world, sparking curiosity. In particular, the images in intense red color and rough texture foreshadow the tension and unease hanging over a world in which humans and “Omega” coexist.

Next, the “Fishing Ground poster” grabs attention with a figure staring straight ahead amid a dreamlike landscape washed in blue light. In a cityscape packed with tall buildings and at the edge of a mysterious space where fish swim, the figure standing there reveals a strange presence—as if symbolizing a world where reality and fantasy intersect. A space where the boundary between water and reality seems to blur, along with an unreal visual that evokes life under the surface, creates an atmosphere as though the viewer is drifting through a dream. The image, completed in a cold blue tone, hints at the film’s mystery and fantastical quality, raising expectations for its unique imagination and world.

The final “Near-Future poster” shows a long corridor running between high perimeter walls and a rundown, desolate cityscape. The sight of figures in work uniforms walking all at once along a narrow uphill road toward a bleak downtown also stirs up curiosity about the social system inside the film. The discordant mood created by the gloomy cityscape and the intense yellow tone makes viewers wonder what kind of near-future society 〈 The Fin 〉 will reveal.

Above all, the three teaser world-setting posters grab the eye with stark contrasts between different colors and spaces: red ruins and a gigantic barrier, a blue fantastical space, and a future city washed in yellow light. The posters, completed in vivid red, dreamlike blue, and gloomy yellow, each contain different moods and worlds—showing 〈 The Fin 〉’s original dystopia in three dimensions. These bold color contrasts and original visual-concept approach preview director Park Se-young’s imagination-driven style, prompting audiences to look forward to the birth of a dystopian SF art cinema they’ve never seen before. In particular, the poster visuals—visually embodying the film’s sensibility, where reality and fantasy, humans and Omega, and control and freedom coexist—raise expectations for the world viewers will encounter in 〈 The Fin 〉.

Meanwhile, 〈 The Fin 〉 began with an invitation to the New Directors competition section at the 78th Locarno Film Festival, then was introduced at major domestic and international festivals such as the Jeonju International Film Festival and the Seoul Independent Film Festival, earning recognition for its artistry and originality. It is also slated for releases in France and North America, and has been drawing attention as a global expectation title the world has already noticed first.

〈 The Fin 〉 is a work created by director Park Se-young, Next Cinеаst’s director known for showing unique imagination and genre sensibility, who directed and wrote the film. Starting with 〈The Tеrа’s Identity〉, which received a special mention from the jury for the short film competition section at the Locarno Film Festival, as well as 〈Spider in the Ground〉, 〈Base Station〉, and other shorts with strong individuality, director Park Se-young has built a film world of her own. With her first feature-length film, 〈Fifth Thoracic Vertebra〉, she won three awards at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival and took the Best Film award at the Seoul Independent Film Festival, leaving a powerful mark. Then, with 〈Slide Strum Mute〉, she received acclaim for her rough-texture mise-en-scène and overwhelming sensory direction, and through 〈 The Fin 〉, she plans to present yet another never-before-seen original dystopian world.

In addition, co-production by celebrated producer Philip Beauver, who made 〈Triangle of Sorrow〉 and 〈The Square〉, further raises expectations for the film. The dystopian SF art cinema 〈 The Fin 〉, a fresh take that has caught the attention of the world, is set to open in July and lead audiences into an original world.