Hong Sangsoo's 35th Film 'Nowhere to Lay My Eyes' Premieres at Locarno, Headed to New York Film Festival
Hong Sangsoo has premiered his 35th feature film, Nowhere to Lay My Eyes, in the main competition at the 79th Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland (Variety). The South Korean production, produced by Jeonwonsa Film Co. and running a brisk 72 minutes, stars Kim Minhee in her return to the screen after a break from acting (Korea JoongAng Daily).
Kim plays Sanghee, who works for an importer of foreign snack products by day and moonlights as an experimental filmmaker posting short films on YouTube. The story follows Sanghee as she visits her estranged mother's new home on Jeju Island after a decade apart, accompanied by her brother (Variety). Two of the film's characters are filmmakers, and soju — the clear Korean spirit that has flowed through many of Hong's films — makes its familiar appearance (Screen Daily).
The cast alongside Kim includes Kwon Haehyo, Choi Myeonggil, Shin Seokho, and Park Miso (Variety). Kim has been exclusively a member of Hong's film company since 2017, making this yet another collaboration within their ongoing creative partnership.
For North American audiences, the path to seeing the film is already set. Nowhere to Lay My Eyes will screen in the main slate of the 2026 New York Film Festival, where it will be joined by another Hong film, The Day She Returns — which premiered earlier in 2026 at the Berlinale, the Berlin film festival that serves as one of Europe's major annual cinema showcases (Variety). Both titles will be released in North America by The Cinema Guild, a New York-based distributor specialising in art-house and international cinema.
Hong, one of South Korea's most prolific directors, is known for his spare, conversational films shot quickly and on modest budgets, frequently premiering at major European festivals. The Korean-language title of the new film is Nun Dul Dega Eomne, and it was presented in DCP 2K format at Locarno — the standard digital cinema package used for festival and commercial screenings (Locarno Film Festival).
Having two Hong films on the same festival slate is a signal of how steady his output remains. The Day She Returns debuted in Berlin; Nowhere to Lay My Eyes arrives in Locarno. Both land in New York this autumn, giving audiences a rare chance to catch up with a director who, at 35 features and counting, shows no sign of slowing down.
