DESTINATION… South Korea
The 74th Trento Film Festival turns its gaze towards the east, focusing on South Korea, a country that has long been at the heart of a revolution in film. Gervasini: “New releases, a few genre gems and a great mountain film: our tribute to Korean cinema, which has produced masterpieces unmatched by any other film industry around the world over the last quarter of a century”
Since 2011, the “Destination…” section of Trento Film Festival has been dedicated to the film and cultural identity of other countries or geographical areas, over and beyond the “mountains and cultures” theme characterising the various sections of the Festival, to offer a comprehensive overview of the output of the guest nation. Following the programmes dedicated to Georgia (2020), Greenland (2021), Ethiopia (2023), Ireland (2024) and Argentina (2025), in 2026 the Trento Film Festival travels to the Far East and turns its attention to South Korea.
The country’s film industry, above all in the new millennium, has been at the heart of an extraordinary revolution that has led to the establishment of a star system and a generation of filmmakers of the highest calibre, in a short space of time. This culminated with Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival in 2019 and the Oscar for Best Picture in 2020, while also triumphing in three other ‘major’ categories: Best International Feature Film, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay by Bong Joon-ho and Han Ji-won. At the same time, two other mass phenomena linked to Korean culture have emerged. On the one hand, there is the global spread of so-called K-pop, with the music and choreography of boy bands, along with male and female soloists (so-called K-idols), aimed primarily at an audience made up of the young, or indeed the very young. In 2012, rapper Psy’s song ‘Gangnam Style’ rapidly reached one billion views on YouTube, breaking all records, while in 2017, the hip-hop band BTS (Bangtan Boys) won an American Music Award and was nominated for a Grammy – the first time ever for a Korean artist or group. The K-pop phenomenon, and particularly its extension beyond national frontiers, reached a peak in 2025 with the animated film K-pop Demon Hunters by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, produced by the American studio Sony Pictures Animation and released internationally by Netflix. This was a huge success, with a genuine cult following, particularly among the very young. The second mass phenomenon, more recent at global level, regards K-dramas – South Korean television dramas – with the top of the iceberg being represented by Squid Game in 2021, still the most-watched series ever to be screened on Netflix.
“Over the last quarter of a century, Korean cinema has produced masterpieces unmatched by other film industries around the world. We have therefore decided to pay tribute to four renowned filmmakers – Kim Ki-duk, Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho and Lee Chang-dong – while also presenting new releases, a few genre gems and the great mountain film The Himalayas, dedicated to the legendary mountaineer Um Hong-gil, who will be attending the festival. There are 15 films, of which 9 full-length and 6 short, selected from the best output of recent years, some never previously released in Italian cinemas: a programme aimed both at enthusiasts and those discovering the magnificent film of South Korea for the first time”, explains Mauro Gervasini, responsible for film programming at Trento Film Festival.
Films
Events
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Sun 26 AprSPECIAL K – ONCE UPON A TIME IN SOUTH KOREA
10:00 HarpoLab - Trento
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Sun 26 AprMADE IN KOREA. DALLE ORIGINI AL K-POP
17:30 Salotto letterario, MontagnaLibri - Trento
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Fri 1 MayBEAUTY RITUALS: A WORKSHOP INSPIRED BY K-BEAUTY
11:00 Palazzo Benvenuti - Trento
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Fri 1 MayTHE HIMALAYAS
16:00 Supercinema Vittoria - Trento
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Fri 1 MayPARTY COREANO
19:00 Baita Festival - Trento
