South Korean Film Sells to Cinema Guild Ahead of Locarno Premiere

A South Korean feature film has been acquired by Cinema Guild for North American distribution ahead of its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival. The film, titled Nowhere to Lay My Eyes, will screen in the international competition section of the 79th edition of the festival, scheduled for Aug.

5-15 in Switzerland. The story follows a woman who visits her mother on Jeju Island after a decade apart, encountering family members and new acquaintances during a two-day stay. Cinema Guild described the project as the director's 35th feature and noted its focus on conversations and discoveries among the characters.

The company previously distributed two earlier films by the same director.

The film reunites the director with several frequent collaborators and introduces one new actor to his work. A synopsis states that the mother runs a successful restaurant while her husband works on a documentary about a grass tomb, and the visitor maintains her job at a snack import company while making short films in her spare time.

2026 will also screen new works from filmmakers based in the United States, Senegal, and Canada. The acquisition deal was arranged between representatives of Cinema Guild and Finecut.