IU Joins Star-Studded Cast of KOREEDA Hirokazu’s BROKER
Feb 18, 2021
Writer
by Pierce Conran
View5644
Japanese Auteur’s Korean Debut to Feature SONG Kang-ho, BAE Doo-na and GANG Dong-won
Korean star IU (aka LEE Ji-eun), one of the biggest names in the country’s entertainment scene, has set her sights on the arthouse world after signing on to appear in Broker, the Korean language debut of acclaimed Japanese filmmaker KOREEDA Hirokazu. The singer-turned-actress joins a cast that already includes big names such as SONG Kang-ho, BAE Doo-na, and GANG Dong-won.
Broker will concern several characters connected by so-called ‘baby boxes’, which are anonymous spaces where parents can leave newborn babies they are unable to care for. KOREEDA, known for Nobody Knows, Still Walking, and Shoplifters, the Palme d’Or winner at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018, has reportedly been developing the project for five years.
A solo singing sensation for over a decade, IU added acting to her talents in the early 2010s and has appeared in several hit Korean drama series since, including My Mister and Hotel Del Luna. In 2018 she starred in the Netflix omnibus Persona, playing a different character in each of the four segments. LEE recently completed her first lead role in a feature film, in the sports drama Dream (working title) from Extreme Job (2019) director LEE Byoung-heon.
Among the previously confirmed cast, BAE Doo-na has worked with Director KOREEDA before, as the lead of his 2009 feature Air Doll. IU appeared opposite BAE in ‘Love Set’, the opening segment of Persona from director LEE Kyoung-mi.
Broker will be financed and distributed by CJ Entertainment, which was responsible for PARASITE, and produced by Zip Cinema, the outfit behind The Priests (2015) and #ALIVE (2020). The film is scheduled to go into production in April.
Any copying, republication or redistribution of KOFIC's content is prohibited without prior consent of KOFIC.