Kim Min-hee Returns to Locarno in Dual Acting and Production Role in Hong Sang-soo’s New Film
Dragon Media News Desk
South Korean actress Kim Min-hee has returned to the international festival circuit with director Hong Sang-soo’s latest feature, “Nowhere to Lay My Eyes,” which is competing in the international competition at the 79th Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland.
Kim attended the festival screening alongside Hong and other members of the cast, marking another major international presentation of their long-running cinematic collaboration.
In the 72-minute Korean-language film, Kim plays the central character, Sang-hee, while also serving as production manager, extending her involvement beyond acting into the practical side of filmmaking.
“Nowhere to Lay My Eyes” follows Sang-hee as she travels to South Korea’s southern island of Jeju in search of her divorced mother, whom she has not seen for about a decade.
The story explores emotional distance, memory, family relationships and the possibility of reconnection through the restrained and observational filmmaking style that has become closely associated with Hong’s work.
The film is Hong’s 35th feature and continues his longstanding relationship with the Locarno Film Festival. He won the festival’s Best Director award for “Our Sunhi” in 2013 and the Golden Leopard, its highest honour, for “Right Now, Wrong Then” in 2015.
Kim has similarly established a substantial presence on the international festival circuit through her performances in Hong’s films. She received the Best Performance award at Locarno in 2024 for her role in “By the Stream.”
Her participation in “Nowhere to Lay My Eyes” is particularly notable because her responsibilities extend beyond her leading performance. Her work as production manager suggests a broader engagement with both the creative and organisational processes behind Hong’s filmmaking.
South Korean cinema has built its global reputation not only through major commercial productions but also through a distinctive tradition of director-driven independent and art-house filmmaking.
The inclusion of “Nowhere to Lay My Eyes” in Locarno’s international competition once again places that side of Korean cinema before a global festival audience, while Kim’s expanding role illustrates how established performers can increasingly participate in filmmaking beyond their work in front of the camera.
