Burning

Jong-soo reconnects with Hae-mi, a childhood friend who asks him to look after her cat while she travels to Africa. When she returns, she introduces him to Ben, a wealthy and enigmatic young man she met on her trip. As the three grow closer, Jong-soo becomes increasingly fascinated by Hae-mi’s new friend, who eventually reveals his strange hobby...

Duration: 148’
Production year: 2018
Country: KR, JP
Language: KO Subtitles: PT, EN

Upcoming sessions

15:00

Culturgest

Grand Auditorium

Cannes Film Festival 2018 — FIPRESCI Prize
TIFF - Toronto International Film Festival 2018

Lee Chang-dong

Born in Daegu in 1954, Lee Chang-dong is one of the most acclaimed South Korean filmmakers and novelists. After beginning his literary career in 1983, he turned to cinema in his forties, working first as a screenwriter and assistant director before making his directorial debut with Green Fish (1997). He went on to direct Peppermint Candy (1999), Oasis (2002), Secret Sunshine (2007), Poetry (2010) and Burning (2018), earning international acclaim and major awards. Oasis won the Silver Lion for Best Director at Venice Film Festival, while Secret Sunshine received the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for Jeon Do-yeon. From 2003 to 2004, Lee Chang-dong served as South Korea’s Minister of Culture and Tourism. His films explore isolation, desire, grief and social inequality through deeply compassionate portraits of individuals caught in moments of personal and historical upheaval. After an eight-year hiatus, he returned to cinema with Possible Love (2026), presented in Competition at Venice, where it received the Grand Jury Prize.