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mul-an-e-seo

in water
Encounters 2023
© Jeonwonsa Film Co.
A young actor decides to give up acting and make a short film. The small crew comprising the actor himself, the cameraman and the female lead arrive on rocky, windswept Jeju Island. In search of an idea, the young actor explores the surroundings, waits for the right light to emerge and watches the horizon from the coast. One day he catches a glimpse of a figure amid the rocks at the bottom of a cliff, and this prompts him to take the plunge and exchange a few words. Thanks to this conversation, and a love song written years earlier, he finally has a story to tell.
Hong Sangsoo returns to the Berlinale with his most intimate and poetic film in which each and every image has been carefully crafted, like an impressionist painting. The result is an aquarium in which you would love to be immersed.
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by Hong Sangsoo (Director, Screenplay)
with Shin Seokho, Ha Seongguk, Kim Seungyun South Korea 2023 Korean 61' Colour World premiere

With

  • Shin Seokho (Seoung-mo)
  • Ha Seongguk (Sang-guk)
  • Kim Seungyun (Nam-hee)

Crew

Director Hong Sangsoo
Screenplay Hong Sangsoo
Cinematography Hong Sangsoo
Editing Hong Sangsoo
Music Hong Sangsoo
Sound Design Hong Sangsoo
Sound Kim Hyejeong
Producer Hong Sangsoo

World Sales

Finecut

Produced by

Jeonwonsa Film Co.

Photos

Hong Sangsoo

© Jeonwonsa Film Co.

Born in Seoul, South Korea in 1960, he studied at the city’s Chung-Ang University, at the California College of Arts and Crafts and at the Art Institute of Chicago. Since 1996, he has written and directed 33 feature films as well as several shorts. His work has already been invited to the Berlinale Competition seven times, most recently in 2024 with A Traveler’s Needs.

Filmography (selection)

2014 Jayueui onduk (Hill of Freedom) 2015 Jigeumeun matgo geuttaeneun teullida (Right Now, Wrong Then) 2016 Dangsinjasingwa dangsinui geot (Yourself and Yours) 2017 Bamui haebyun-eoseo honja (On the Beach at Night Alone) · Keul-le-eo-ui ka-me-la (Claire’s Camera) · Geu-hu (The Day After) 2018 Pul-lp-Deul (Grass) 2019 Gang-Byun-Ho-Tel (Hotel by the River) · Domangchin yeoja (The Woman Who Ran) 2020 Inteurodeoksyeon (Introduction) 2021 Dangsin-eolgul-apeseo (In Front of Your Face) · So-seol-ga-ui yeong-hwa (The Novelist’s Film) 2022 Top (Walk Up) 2023 mul-an-e-seo (in water) · Woo-ri-ui-ha-ru (In Our Day) 2024 Yeohaengjaui pilyo (A Traveler’s Needs) 2025 Geu jayeoni nege mworago hani (What Does That Nature Say To You)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2025