With only a few days to go until the 2022 Cannes Film Festival lineup will be unveiled, we already have some hints as to what will premiere at the festival. Jumping from Japan to France for The Truth, Hirokazu Koreeda then headed to South Korea for his next project. Going by a few titles since its announcement, those involved seemed to have settled on Baby Broker (per the official social accounts) and now the first poster has been unveiled.
Featuring the all-star cast of Song Kang-ho (Parasite), Bae Doona (Cloud Atlas, The Host), Kang Dong-won (Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula), and the popular artist IU aka Lee Ji-eun, the poster reveals a June 2022 release date in Japan, which means a Cannes debut is likely in the card.
If confirmed, this would mark the director’s return to the festival, last appearing there with his 2018 Palme d’Or winner Shoplifters. Baby Broker was shot by cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo (Parasite, Burning) and centers on baby boxes, in which parents who aren’t able to provide for their babies anonymously give them up. Along with the poster, check out Hirokazu Koreeda’s statement on the project below upon its announcement
Plans for Broker began about five years ago.
As always, it all began with the actors. I first met Song Kang Ho at the Busan International Film Festival and Kang Dong Won when he was in Tokyo for work. I have continued to stay in contact with the two actors in Tokyo, Seoul, Busan, and Cannes. At first, we simply exchanged greetings but as we continued to share conversations, it naturally led to us talking about working on a film together.
I worked with Bae Doona in 2009, and I thought to myself, ‘I hope we work together again, next time as a human character,’ and that dream has finally come true over 10 years later. And now I will be working on a film with crew members and Korean actors I greatly respect.
Broker is a story about baby boxes. Right now, working on the script that will move these three great actors, I am so excited. In order to share this excitement with you all, I hope to create a thrilling, heartwarming, and emotional film.
This film, like my latest film, will be one where I am apart from my home country and native language. What will I be able to express and share as we overcome barriers of language and culture? What does it mean to be a director? I hope to explore those questions through this project.