Actress Kim Min Hee has officially returned to acting two years after becoming a mother.
According to distributor Finecut, Hong Sang Soo‘s latest film Nowhere to Lay My Eyes has been invited to the International Competition section of the 79th Locarno Film Festival, marking another major milestone for the acclaimed director.
Founded in 1946 in Locarno, Switzerland, the Locarno Film Festival is one of the world’s oldest film festivals and is widely recognized for showcasing artistic and auteur-driven cinema.
The film is particularly drawing attention as it marks Kim Min Hee’s first acting project since giving birth to Hong Sang Soo’s son in April last year. Nowhere to Lay My Eyes is also the director’s 35th feature film.
Although Kim has remained involved in Hong Sang Soo’s productions behind the scenes, serving in roles such as production manager, this is her first on-screen acting credit since By the Stream, released in September 2024. The project effectively marks her return to the screen about a year after giving birth and two years after her previous acting role.
A newly released still from the film shows Kim Min Hee standing beneath a bright blue sky in a brown coat, gazing toward the camera with a focused expression, offering audiences a first glimpse of her latest performance.
Hong Sang Soo and Kim Min Hee, who is 22 years younger than the filmmaker, first met while working on the 2015 film Right Now, Wrong Then. In 2017, they publicly acknowledged that they were in a romantic relationship. Their relationship has now continued for nearly a decade. Hong remains legally married after his divorce lawsuit against his wife was dismissed in 2019.
Following the birth of their child, the couple was previously spotted taking walks in parks with their baby, drawing considerable public attention.
Meanwhile, Nowhere to Lay My Eyes marks Hong Sang Soo's fifth invitation to the Locarno Film Festival's main competition, following Our Sunhi (2013), Right Now, Wrong Then (2015), and Hotel by the River (2018), among others. Right Now, Wrong Then won the festival's highest honor, the Golden Leopard.
Scheduled for domestic release in the second half of the year, Nowhere to Lay My Eyes follows Sang Hee, a woman raised by her grandparents after her parents divorced during her childhood. Together with her younger brother, she travels to Jeju Island to reunite with their mother, who has settled there. The cast also includes Choi Myung Gil, making her first appearance in a Hong Sang Soo film, alongside Kwon Hae Hyo, Shin Seok Ho, and Park Mi So.
As with many of his previous works, Hong Sang Soo handled directing, screenwriting, cinematography, sound recording, editing, and music for the film. Kim Min Hee is also credited as the production manager, continuing her long-standing collaboration with the director behind the camera as well as in front of it.
Sources: Daum