FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 24, 2025

CINEMA GUILD ACQUIRES HONG SANGSOO’S
Berlinale title What Does That Nature Say to You

NEW YORK, NY (February 24, 2025) – Cinema Guild announced today the acquisition of US distribution rights for What Does That Nature Say to You, directed by Hong Sangsoo, starring his long term collaborator Kwon Haehyo. The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival last week, marking Hong’s impressive streak of six consecutive years at the Berlinale. Cinema Guild will release the film in theaters this year.

Donghwa (Ha Seongguk) is a fledgling poet in his thirties. He rejects material aspirations and seeks to lead a life dedicated to truth and beauty. On a lazy afternoon, he drives his girlfriend, Junhee (Kang Soyi), back to her parents’ home outside Seoul. In the driveway, they run into her father (Kwon Haehyo), who is strangely interested in Donghwa’s dinged up old car. He takes it for a spin around the block, then invites Donghwa to stay and meet the family: him, his wife (Cho Yunhee), who also writes poetry, and Junhee’s reclusive sister (Park Miso), who practices the gayageum, a traditional string instrument. They end up wiling away the day together, visiting a temple by the river, climbing the hill near the house, watching the sunset, and, sure enough, imbibing drinks. Egged on by Junhee’s dad, Donghwa gets progressively more drunk as the day advances. Finally, he makes a fool of himself at dinner. Then everything begins to unravel for the poet: his relationship, his art, his revolutionary ideals.

In his 33rd feature, Hong Sangsoo spins a bitterly comic fable on the trials of living simply and righteously in our world. Grounded in place and composed of subtly complex long takes, which coolly observe the actors tightrope walking across lines of dialogue, the film is a wonder of intuitive formal rigor. As it charts this sincere (perhaps naive) young man’s comeuppance in the face of indifferent realities, What Does That Nature Say to You blossoms into one of Hong’s richest and most revealing character portraits.

"There’s no one doing it quite like Hong Sangsoo," said Cinema Guild President Peter Kelly, "The film is a testament to Hong’s mastery of nuance and simplicity. It is beautifully acted and deeply affecting." The deal was negotiated by Peter Kelly of Cinema Guild with Youngjoo Suh of Finecut.

Cinema Guild is a premier distributor of world cinema, independent films and documentaries, whose upcoming releases include Matías Piñeiro’s You Burn Me, Hong Sangsoo’s By the Stream, Shinji Somai’s Love Hotel, Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich’s The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire, and the films of João César Monteiro. Recent releases include Hong Sangsoo’s A Traveler’s Needs, Kazik Radwanski’s Matt and Mara, and Somai’s Moving.

For press inquiries, please contact us at:

(212) 685-6242 or press at cinemaguild dot com

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