Korean actress Choi Hee-seo will star in Japanese director Yuya Ishii’s upcoming film tentatively titled “Asian Angels.”

The film, which has recently finished shooting in Korea, is set to premiere in Seoul in the first half of next year, according to an announcement released Thursday.

“Asian Angels” is a human drama revolving around two families, one from Japan and the other from Korea, who have been hurt by others and have come to Seoul in search of shelter.

Along with Choi, Japan’s Joe Odagiri, known for “House of Himiko” (2005) and Ishii’s “The Great Passage” (2013), and aspiring actor Sosuke Ikematsu of “Shoplifters” (2018) will feature in the film.

According to the announcement, the film was shot in Korea after the director underwent around three years of preproduction in preparation.

“Since 2008 when I attended my first film fest in Korea, I have developed a good relationship with Korean cineastes and they have all been of great help in shooting this film. I believe this film is not a film by Korea, Japan, nor the cooperation of the two countries, but a completely novel and independent film,” Ishii said in the announcement.

An established filmmaker in Japan, Ishii is best known for “The Great Passage,” which grabbed several awards in his country.

Choi, who uses Moon Choi as her English name, is a veteran actress who made herself known to the wider public in “Dongju” in 2017, with which she received high acclaims for her acting of a Japanese figure. She went on to sweep the local film awards with “Anarchist From Colony” the same year, and recently grabbed the best actress award at the indie Wildflower Film Awards with “Our Body” (2019).



By Choi Ji-won (jwc@heraldcorp.com)