South Korean auteur and festival fave Hong Sang-soo reunites with muse Kim Min-hee for another casually evocative tale of chance encounters, which took home the Berlinale’s Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize.

Suffering writer’s block, celebrated novelist Jun-hee (Lee Hye-young, No Blood No Tears, MIFF 2003) goes on a trip to catch up with a friend with whom she’s fallen out of touch. On this expedition, she stumbles upon a filmmaker peer, Hyo-jin (Kwon Hae-hyo, Hotel by the River, MIFF 2019), which in turn leads to a chance meeting with renowned actress Kil-soo (Kim, Grass, MIFF 2018; The Handmaiden, MIFF 2016) and to plans for the novelist to write and direct a short film starring her new acquaintance.

Shot in black-and-white and unfolding in the prolific director’s elliptical fashion, this 28th feature from Hong (Introduction, MIFF 2021; On the Beach at Night Alone, MIFF 2017) – who has two inclusions in this year’s MIFF – gently lampoons his career fixations while adding ripples to his themes and visual quirks. In The Novelist’s Film, which was once again written, directed, shot, edited and soundtracked by the one-man powerhouse, he delivers his signature winding storylines and musings on art, drinking and noodles while adding sly variations to his own cinematic universe.

“Celebrates the casual, sensual and spontaneous pleasures of life … Another gorgeous, meandering film that’s rich with imperfect musings.” – Sight & Sound