Na Hong-jin says he is still revising 'Hope' before release to improve sound and visuals

Director Na Hong-jin said he is still revising 〈Hope〉 ahead of its July 15 release, continuing to work on the film's sound and visuals even after its press screening.

CinePLAY met with director Na Hong-jin at an undisclosed location in Seoul's Jongno District on the afternoon of the 7th to discuss 〈Hope〉, from his thoughts on the release to behind-the-scenes stories. Na's new film 〈Hope〉, which was invited to compete at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, centers on Beom-seok (Hwang Jung-min), chief of the Hopo Port outpost in the Demilitarized Zone. After local young men tell him a tiger has appeared, the entire village goes on alert, and the story begins as he encounters an unbelievable reality.

Na said he was grateful for the strong response after 〈Hope〉's press screening, but that he was still pushing through final revisions after spotting areas he wanted to improve. "I'm extremely grateful, but honestly it doesn't really sink in," he said. He has been racing to make last-minute adjustments after finding elements he wants to fix. "As soon as yesterday's press-and-distribution screening ended, I ran to adjust the sound mix and called the DI room. I plan to start work again as soon as this interview is over today," he said. "Tomorrow I'll fly to the United States to finalize the visuals, and after that I think there won't be any time left to do anything more even if I wanted to."

The film 〈Hope〉 opens on July 15.