Director July Jung became emotional while speaking about the late Kim Sae Ron during an interview at the 79th Cannes Film Festival.
On May 19th local time, Jung sat down with reporters alongside actress Sakura Ando at the Korean Film Council’s promotion pavilion inside the Palais des Festivals to discuss her new film Dora.
Dora follows a family who leaves Seoul for a seaside summer villa, where a young woman named Dora (played by Kim Do Yeon), who suffers from a mysterious illness, experiences love for the first time — setting off a quiet unraveling within the family.
The film was officially invited to the Directors’ Fortnight section at Cannes and held its world premiere on May 17th.
Known for telling women-centered stories in films like A Girl at My Door and Next Sohee, Jung explained that her focus naturally tends to gravitate toward female characters because she herself is a woman and a female director.
But she added that with Dora, she especially wanted to tell a story about generations rather than gender. “I wanted to talk about younger generations surviving somehow and eventually healing,” she said. “I still believe hope lies with younger people.”
Jung, who received a standing ovation from audiences at Cannes, also included Kim Sae Ron’s name in the film’s special thanks section during the ending credits. The two previously worked together on A Girl at My Door.
Speaking about the actress, Jung became visibly emotional before breaking down in tears. “She was such an important actress to me and to our production company,” she said. “Losing her has been incredibly painful. It hurts so much that we — our film industry and our society — ultimately lost her.”
Dora is scheduled to open in Korea in the second half of 2026.
>> Emergency Incident Reported Within Kim Sae Ron’s Family Days Before Posthumous Film Premiere
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