Unforgettable K-Cinema: The 2026 Korean Film Festival Begins This Week
Image: Boss.
The Korean Film Festival In Australia (KOFFIA) returns this year for its 17th presentation with a program of Korea’s most powerful films. From grand sagas to quiet, personal stories, from edge-of-your-seat thrillers to films flowing with warmth and humour. The lineup reflects the range and spirit of Korean cinema today.
Expect ambitious epics, contemporary works and genre films that may surprise and stay with you long after leaving the cinema. Korean cinema continues to resonate globally owing to the emotional depth and originality displayed in these outstanding films, which are basically a tribute to the filmmakers.
The Korean Film Industry produces movies which are popular globally. Movies such as Parasite and Train To Busan and directors such as Bong Joon-ho have contributed to the world discovering the wonderful cinema being produced in this country. Korean cinema mixes creativity with popular appeal and continues to grow.
This year the program consists of ten films, nine of which are Australian premieres and there will be five special guests attending. Afterwards the festival will tour to five locations around Australia.
“Audiences expecting familiar K-drama tropes will be handed something far grander with our 2026 program. Throw expectation to the wind and see a gangster who would give anything not to become the next boss; a teenager who detonates her whole world with one careless sentence; or even a son who uncovers the secrets of his mother’s life decades after her passing. It’s here for you to see this August, and only at KOFFIA,” enthused Koffia Programmer Inji Jung.
The opening night film Once We Were Us is one not to miss. The story moves between Seoul in 2008 and a reunion more than a decade later, following two people whose friendship becomes an extraordinary love before adulthood pulls them apart. Director KIM Do-young will be in attendance for a Q&A.
Australian moviegoers should catch a film or two at KOFFIA as the stories are bold with stunning visuals. It’s a chance to feel new emotions, learn about another culture and join the global buzz around Korean movies.
Korean Film Festival 2026 Hot Picks
The Ugly (YEON Sang-ho): A mystery thriller. After Dong-Hwan’s missing mother’s skeletal remains are located 40 years on, he investigates her death. The film exposes prejudice as flashbacks reveal her life, judged ‘ugly’ at a garment factory she worked at prior to her death.
The Day She Returns (HONG Sang-soo): Beautifully filmed in black & white, this drama follows a middle-aged actress who returns to acting after her divorce. After doing 3 interviews for her indie film, she’s asked to re-enact them in class but can’t remember them. This is a story about memory, identity and new beginnings.
Project Y (LEE Hwan): A crime thriller about two best friends desperate to escape debt and nightlife jobs so plan to steal a huge amount of dirty money and gold from a crime boss. The heist spirals into betrayal, chases and the fight for freedom. Director LEE Hwan in attendance.
Maze: A psychological drama about a man who after losing his wife grieves and falls through the cracks of life. With the aid of a private detective, he investigates the case and confronts the painful truths and his inner self. KO Kyung-pyo and producer KANG Taeu in attendance.
Additionally, the following films will also screen in Sydney.
Boss: Audiences who enjoy action-comedies won’t be disappointed. The story delves on a reluctant gangster who will do almost anything to step back from the top job, particularly once his preferred successor announces he’d rather be a tango dancer! Laughter is guaranteed in this film which was a hit at the Korean box office.
You Are the Apple of My Eye: A sweet, nostalgic coming-of-age romance which centres on Jinyoung and Dahyun in a story of first loves that follows a high-school troublemaker and the model student assigned to ensure that he follows all the rules.
The World of Love: a drama directed by Yoon Ga-eun follows a 17-year-old student who seems to be the liveliest, funniest and most confident and popular girl in class until her world is thrown into chaos.
The Eyes: A photographer who is slowly going blind, suspects her twin’s death wasn’t suicide. As she investigates, her vision worsens and she’s targeted by the same killer. Directed by Yeom Ji-ho, this is a remake of the 2010 Spanish thriller Julia’s Eyes.
Journey There: Music, family and an unexpected connection intertwine, as an older woman relocating near a hospital meets a conductor searching for his birth mother and an orphan who dreams of a career in piano. Director KIM Jin-yu will be attending the Sydney screening.
The Korean Film Festival 2026 is on from August 20 – 25 at Event George Cinema.
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